WASHINGTON D.C. — House Republicans plan to vote to formally launch an impeachment investigation of President Joe Biden by Christmas, according to Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who is leading the informal impeachment probe launched in September. The vote could come as soon as this week.
The impeachment inquiry has not, however, made any substantively new allegations, and thus far their claims have outpaced the evidence.
Judiciary Committee Republicans released a report Tuesday detailing claims the Justice Department unfairly limited a tax probe into the president’s son, Hunter Biden — though the report failed to show evidence the president had done anything illegal.
Two whistleblowers mentioned in the report, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, testified again Tuesday at a closed Ways and Means Committee hearing.
“Today they’re going to release more information in the Ways and Means Committee,” said Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, at a press conference Tuesday morning.
The hearing was closed because the whistleblowers were expected to discuss Hunter Biden’s private tax information. A motion to allow the public to view the hearing failed largely along party lines.
At the press conference, House Republicans again alleged influence peddling by Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.
“He was both directly involved and directly benefitted from his son’s business dealings,” said Rep. Smith.
On Monday, House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., emailed reporters claiming Hunter Biden’s law firm, Owasco PC, had made direct monthly payments to Joe Biden.
Owasco PC had received payments from Chinese-state-linked and other foreign companies in the past.
“These direct monthly payments to Joe Biden are part of a pattern revealing Joe Biden knew about, participated in and benefitted from his family’s shady business dealings,” Comer said at the press conference Tuesday.
However, past reporting from multiple outlets shows the payments were actually for a 2018 Ford Raptor truck that Joe Biden had purchased for Hunter Biden’s use. The three payments of $1,380 came from September to November of 2018, nearly two years after Biden’s vice presidential term ended.
The White House wrote in a statement:
“James Comer continues to lie and mislead the public with false claims as he desperately tries to keep his failing impeachment stunt alive. The public reporting today has made pretty clear that buying a Ford pickup truck is not an impeachable offense.”
Until this point, House Republicans have not had the votes to formalize their inquiry. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Ca., unilaterally launched a probe in September with a formal House vote.
Current Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the conference is moving ahead with caution.
“We've come to this sort of inflection point because right now the White House is stonewalling that investigation," he said. "They are refusing to turn over key witnesses to allow them to testify as they've been subpoenaed. They're refusing to turn over thousands of documents for the National Archives, and the House has no choice if it's going to follow its constitutional responsibility to formally adopt an impeachment inquiry on the floor so that when the subpoenas are challenged in court we will be at the apex of our constitutional authority. This vote is not a vote to impeach President Biden. This is a vote to continue the inquiry of impeachment. That is a necessary constitutional step, and I believe we'll get every vote that we need.”
