Biden allegedly benefited from an influence-peddling plot to enrich himself through international business activities, according to a 291-page investigation by three House committees.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives released a report on Monday that claimed Democratic President Joe Biden had committed crimes that may lead to his impeachment, but it was unclear if they would seek a vote on the matter after an investigation that the White House has long since brushed aside as politically motivated.
In a 291-page report, three House committees said that beginning in 2014, when Biden was vice president, he and his family members engaged in overseas commercial transactions to enrich himself.
“The committees present this information to the House of Representatives for its evaluation and consideration of appropriate next steps,” concluded the report.
In the weeks before the election on November 5, in which Republican Donald Trump is tied in a close race with Vice President Kamala Harris, it was unclear if Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson would call a vote to remove Biden from office.
It would be difficult to remove Biden from office even if the Republican-controlled House passed such a bill, as his own Democratic Party would need to convict him 51–49 in the Senate. On January 20, Biden, who dropped his own candidacy for reelection last month, is scheduled to step down from his position.
The Senate swiftly ended a comparable House impeachment attempt in April against Biden’s senior border administrator, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
According to the House investigators, Biden abused his position of power to help his son Hunter Biden’s business ventures with partners in China, Russia, Ukraine, and other nations.
Hunter Biden is awaiting trial on tax evasion charges, including the allegation that he took payments from a Romanian businessman who tried to influence U.S. government agencies in connection with a criminal investigation in Romania. Biden was found guilty on charges that he lied about using illegal drugs to purchase a gun.
Members of both parties have attacked the impeachment investigation, which Congress formally approved last December and is being conducted by the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways & Means Committees, for failing to present concrete proof of Biden’s misconduct.
Democrats have derided the endeavor as a kind of retaliation against Trump, who was twice impeached by a House controlled by Democrats but was ultimately cleared by the Senate both times. According to the first impeachment, Trump had urged Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, to assist in defaming Joe Biden in exchange for U.S. assistance.
