House Votes to Formalize Impeachment Inquiry into Joe Biden

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference after his meeting with China's Preside
Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool
Wendell Husebø and Bradley Jaye

The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden by a vote of 221 to 212.

The formally adopted status will enable House investigators to enforce subpoenas and gather evidence about whether the president is compromised and “traded official acts for foreign dollars,” according to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

FILE - House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 2, 2023. As Johnson tries to unite the slim House Republican majority, he's fast running into the same hard-right factions and divisions that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy was unable to tame. It's disrupting the GOP agenda, shelving priorities and leaving gnawing questions about any leader's ability to govern.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE – House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 2, 2023. As Johnson tries to unite the slim House Republican majority, he’s fast running into the same hard-right factions and divisions that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy was unable to tame. It’s disrupting the GOP agenda, shelving priorities and leaving gnawing questions about any leader’s ability to govern.(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Republicans unanimously voted to adopt the resolution. In a surprise, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who had been critical of the Republicans’ impeachment focus and earlier indicated he would oppose the resolution, voted with his Republican colleagues to formalize the inquiry.

Buck

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, stops for a reporter as he heads to the chamber for votes, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022. Some in the Freedom Caucus are showing reluctance to the choice of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to become the next speaker of the House when the Republicans take the majority in the next Congress. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Democrats voted in a block to oppose the resolution’s adoption.

The White House failed to provide investigators:

  • Information about two loan agreements Joe Biden allegedly executed with James Biden for a total of $240,000.
  • 99.98 percent of requested records from President Joe Biden, including alias emails.
  • Documents about an alleged $5 million bribe Joe Biden accepted.
  • Materials related to Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents.

The vote was a test for House Republicans, who only hold a slight majority that will shrink further this month after Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) announced resignation. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-FL) is also expected to leave in the new year to take a university post.

Rettig Hearing

UNITED STATES – MARCH 18: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts his weekly news conference in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on Friday, March 18, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Speaker, McCarthy opened an “impeachment inquiry” into the president on September 12, but lawmakers did not vote to approve the measure until Wednesday.

“I don’t see the evidence of it,” Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) told Semafor about the inquiry, “But yes, when your own son and your own brother are clearly, at the very least unethical and at worst, doing illegal things — my goodness, of course the country pays attention to it.”

“I have a pit in my stomach about it,” a Democrat strategist who worked on Clinton’s 2016 campaign told the Messenger about the chaos surrounding Hunter Biden. “This Hunter story has the legs to ruin things for Biden.”

Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn on April 18, 2022. This years event theme, EGGucation, will transform the South Lawn into a school community, full of fun educational activities for children to enjoy in addition to the traditional rolling and hunting eggs. (Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The vote occurred hours after a defiant Hunter Biden appeared at the Capitol for a press conference after failing to appear for a subpoenaed closed-door deposition Wednesday. Hunter’s business dealings and his father’s alleged knowledge and involvement will be a focal point for House investigators.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) initiated contempt of Congress proceedings against Hunter after his failure to appear.

Comer Jordan

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., left, confers with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as the Oversight panel holds an organizational meeting for the 118th Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. Jordan is leading investigative efforts of the Biden administration. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Recent polling shows Americans are highly skeptical of Hunter and Joe Biden:

  • ABC News/Ipsos: A plurality of Americans are not confident about how the Justice Department handled the investigation into Hunter Biden.
  • Yahoo/YouGov: A majority of voters believe President Joe Biden committed a crime with Hunter Biden.
  • TIPP: 63 percent say Joe Biden violated FARA by assisting Hunter Biden in Ukraine deal.

House investigators opened a probe into the Biden family in November 2022. They revealed Joe Biden received money from James and Hunter Biden. They also showed that nine additional Biden family members received payments from the family’s foreign business ventures, including two of Joe Biden’s grandchildren.

More evidence against Joe Biden can be found here and here.

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