BTN News: The House Republicans have taken a bold step by releasing their initial report on the impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. The investigation, which has been in the works for nearly a year, delves into allegations of power abuse and obstruction of justice linked to the financial dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and the family’s business partners. However, despite the lengthy inquiry, the 300-page report stops short of accusing the President of any crimes. Instead, it revisits well-known allegations that the Biden family has exploited their “brand” in questionable business dealings, suggesting that this behavior meets the constitutional threshold for impeachment.
With President Biden no longer pursuing re-election, the future of this impeachment effort remains highly uncertain. Even within their own ranks, House Republicans have struggled to gain sufficient support for an actual impeachment. Moreover, the likelihood of the Senate removing Biden from office appears even more distant. Instead, many Republicans are shifting their focus to the anticipated Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, with some investigations already targeting her.
The White House has dismissed the impeachment inquiry as a mere “political strategy,” urging House Republicans to “move on.” The Republican-led House committees overseeing the investigation—Oversight and Accountability, Judiciary, and Ways and Means—expressed outrage in the report, stating, “The totality of corrupt conduct uncovered by the Committees is scandalous.” The report further asserts that “the remedy for a blatant abuse of presidential power is clear: impeachment by the House and removal by the Senate.”
Throughout their majority in the House, Republicans have been laser-focused on President Biden and his family’s business dealings, a pursuit strongly encouraged by former President Donald Trump. Trump, who himself faced two impeachments and is now under indictment, continues to seek a return to the White House. The impeachment inquiry has been a cornerstone of the House Republican agenda, initiated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shortly before his ouster from leadership and formalized in December under the new Speaker, Mike Johnson. The investigation scrutinizes various aspects of the Biden family’s finances, tracing back to 2009 when Biden was Vice President under Barack Obama.
The Republicans’ investigation has unearthed bank records, interviewed around 30 witnesses, gathered whistleblower testimonies, and sifted through millions of documents. They allege that Hunter Biden and his associates engaged in a years-long practice of leveraging the Biden family’s proximity to power in Washington to secure foreign business deals. The report’s focus is primarily on the years when the Biden family was grappling with the aftermath of the death of Joe Biden’s eldest son, Beau, in 2015, and when Biden was retreating from political life, declining to run for president in 2016.
Hunter Biden, who has admitted to struggling with a severe crack addiction during those years, was convicted in June on firearms charges and is set to face federal tax charges in an upcoming trial. Devon Archer, a former business associate of Hunter Biden who was sentenced to a year in prison in 2022 for an unrelated matter, testified before the committee that “at the end of the day, part of what was being offered was the brand.”
To link President Biden to his son’s actions, House Republicans rely on a series of phone calls and dinner visits Joe Biden made while Hunter was conducting business. On several occasions, Hunter reportedly put his father on speakerphone so his business associates could hear the exchange of greetings between father and son. The Bidens, known for their close-knit family ties, have acknowledged that they communicate almost daily, even during that tumultuous period, with Joe Biden checking in on his son’s well-being.
In his own closed-door testimony to House investigators, Hunter Biden maintained that he never involved his father in his business dealings. In total, House Republicans allege that the Biden family and their associates received approximately $27 million in payments from business partners or clients in countries like Russia, China, and others. They also claim another $8 million in loans, including some from Hunter Biden’s benefactor, Kevin Morris, a Hollywood attorney, and raise questions about the sale of Hunter’s artwork.
The report argues that it is “inconceivable” that President Biden was unaware of what was happening, alleging that “President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family.” Biden declined a request to testify before the House.
The report frequently references the impeachments of Donald Trump by Democrats, as Republicans attempt to contrast Trump’s grounds for impeachment with the alleged dealings and “corruption” of the Biden family. However, the differences are stark, as Trump, who is currently indicted, faces real criminal charges, including conspiracy to overturn Biden’s 2020 election victory and inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The report also accuses Biden of obstructing justice in the investigation, echoing previous complaints about the Department of Justice’s handling of the Hunter Biden probe. Attorney General Merrick Garland has strongly denied these allegations, defending the department against claims of political influence.
A significant portion of the report is dedicated to what Republicans have long claimed as a pattern of “stalling” investigative steps and delaying enforcement actions to benefit the President’s son. However, the report provides no evidence that Biden was involved in his son’s investigation, which was initiated during Trump’s presidency and has been led by a U.S. attorney in Delaware appointed by Trump.
The report, published on Monday, makes over 20 references to the “Biden-Harris administration,” whereas previous committee reports typically only mentioned Biden directly. Although Harris is not mentioned individually in the report, the same committees leading the investigation have begun to open new inquiries into her and her running mate, Tim Walz.
