By Farnoush Amiri | Associated Press
House Republicans are set to hold their inaugural hearing in the impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden next week in Washington.
Scheduled for September 28, the hearing will primarily address the “constitutional and legal questions” surrounding allegations of Biden’s involvement in his son Hunter’s international business dealings, according to a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee.
In recent weeks, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans have argued that Biden’s actions as vice president reflect a “culture of corruption,” accusing his son of leveraging the “Biden brand” to advance his business ventures with foreign clients.
The spokesperson also revealed that Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the Chairman of the Oversight Committee, intends to issue subpoenas for both Hunter Biden’s personal and business bank records, as well as those of the president’s brother James Biden, as early as this week. McCarthy appointed Comer to lead the inquiry in collaboration with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith.
The White House has condemned the move by House Republicans during the presidential campaign, calling it “extreme politics at its worst.”
In a statement made on Tuesday, White House spokesperson Ian Sams said, “Staging a political stunt hearing in the waning days before they may shut down the government reveals their true priorities: To them, baseless personal attacks on President Biden are more important than preventing a government shutdown and the pain it would inflict on American families.”
Last week, McCarthy announced the impeachment inquiry amid mounting pressure from his right flank to take action against Biden, lest he risk losing his leadership position. Concurrently, the speaker is facing challenges in passing crucial legislation needed to avoid a federal government shutdown by the end of the month.
McCarthy initiated the inquiry without a House vote, and it remains uncertain whether he has enough support from his slim GOP majority to obtain approval. Some lawmakers have criticized the current evidence for failing to meet the Constitutional threshold of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
An impeachment inquiry is a step closer to the actual impeachment of a president, a tool that had been rarely used in Congress until recently.
However, McCarthy and other Republicans have been under pressure from former President Trump, who is now the leading candidate to challenge Biden in next year’s election, to proceed with proceedings against his opponent. This action is also seen as an attempt to divert attention from Trump’s ongoing legal battles and shift the negative spotlight onto Biden.
The impeachment inquiry is expected to build upon the work done by Comer and others since gaining the House majority in January. While there are multiple lines of investigation, Comer has been specifically tasked with following the money trail involving Biden’s son and brother in their various business ventures.
The chairman has repeatedly claimed that the Biden family engaged in an influence-peddling scheme but has yet to directly implicate the president himself.
In their efforts, Republicans have focused heavily on an unverified tip provided to the FBI alleging a bribery scheme involving Biden during his tenure as vice president. This allegation, which emerged in 2019 and was part of Trump’s first impeachment, pertains to the assertion that Biden exerted pressure on Ukraine to dismiss its chief prosecutor in order to halt an investigation into Burisma, an oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden served on the board.
Democrats have countered this claim by highlighting that the Justice Department, under Trump’s presidency, investigated the allegations surrounding Burisma for eight months and subsequently closed the case due to insufficient evidence. Furthermore, other countries were also advocating for the removal of the Ukrainian official, viewing him as corrupt. Testimony from a former business partner of Hunter Biden further supports the assertion that the bribery allegation is false.
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