House Republicans have released their initial proposals. Achieving isolation Report to the President Joe BidenAlleging abuse of power and obstruction of justice in his son’s financial dealings. Hunter Biden And family members.
The nearly year-long Republican investigation stopped short of accusing the president of any criminal wrongdoing. Instead, the 300-page report released Monday ahead of the U.S. presidential election could serve as evidence that the president has committed any criminal wrongdoing. National Democratic Congress This report covers familiar ground, asserting that the Biden family has exploited its “brand” in business ventures in corrupt ways that reach the Constitution’s upper limit for impeachment.
With Biden He is no longer running for re-election.The next steps are highly uncertain, and House Republicans had no choice. Support from their own ranks Impeachment and removal of the president by the Senate is a long shot. Many Republicans would rather focus attention on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harriswith some investigation.
The White House has dismissed the House impeachment inquiry as a “stunt” and encouraged House Republicans to “I continue.”
“The totality of corrupt behavior uncovered by the committees is egregious,” the House Oversight, Accountability, Judiciary, and Methods Committees wrote. Lead the investigation.
“The Constitution’s remedy for a blatant abuse of office by the president is clear: impeachment by the House of Representatives and removal by the Senate,” the report said.
Republicans have spent much of their time in the House majority focusing excessively on Biden and his family’s businesses, encouraged by Donald Trump As is He was isolated twice. and Former President Accused He makes an offer to return to the White House.
The impeachment inquiry has been a cornerstone of the House Republican effort, It was launched. By former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shortly before he was removed from his position as Speaker. It was formalized in December. Under new House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republicans are investigating many aspects of the Biden family’s finances dating back to 2009 when he was vice president to President Barack Obama.
Through bank records, interviews with about 30 witnesses, whistleblower accounts and millions of documents, House Republicans allege that Hunter Biden and his associates have for years pursued a practice aimed at securing foreign business deals using the family’s proximity to power in Washington.
The report does not focus heavily on Biden’s tenure as president, but rather on the years he The Biden family was in turmoil. After the death of his eldest son, Beau, in 2015, and while the vice president was considering withdrawing from his elected office, he declined to run for president in 2016.
Hunter Biden has admitted to being heavily addicted to cocaine during these years, and was convicted last June on charges of Criminal charges related to weapons possession He is scheduled to appear in court next month. Federal Tax Fees.
Hunter Biden’s former aide Devon Archer“At the end of the day, part of what was handed over was the brand,” Mohamed Ali, who was sentenced to a year in prison in 2022 in another case, told the committee.
To tie Biden Sr. to his son’s actions, Republicans are relying on a series of phone calls and surprise dinner visits Joe Biden made while Hunter was running his business. At times, Hunter put his father in an awkward position. On speaker To his guests as father and son exchanged pleasantries.
The Bidens are known to be a close-knit family and admit they speak almost daily, including during this time, as the father checks in on his son’s health.
In his closed-door testimony to House investigators, Hunter Biden insisted that he He did not involve his father In his work.
In all, House Republicans allege that the Bidens and their associates received about $27 million in business payments from partners or clients in Russia, China and other countries. They also allege another $8 million in loans, including some from Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer who is a Biden financier, and question the purchases. Artwork for son.
The report said it was “inconceivable” that President Biden did not understand what was happening.
The report alleges that “President Biden participated in a conspiracy to use his position as Secretary General to enrich his family.”
Biden himself Request denied To testify before the House of Representatives.
Trump’s rebound touches The accusations The accusations are spread throughout the report by Democrats, while Republicans are working to compare the reasons for its removal to the Biden family’s dealings and “fraud.”
But the difference is stark, as the impeached Trump faces actual criminal charges, including conspiring to overturn Biden’s 2020 election and lure supporters to Washington on Election Day. January 6, 2021, Capitol Attack.
The report also accuses Biden of obstruction of justice in the investigation, and revisits previously aired complaints about the Justice Department’s handling of the Hunter Biden investigation. Attorney General Merrick Garland has vehemently denied the allegations, defending the department against allegations of political influence.
The report focuses heavily on what Republicans have long alleged is a pattern of “slow-moving” investigative steps and delays in enforcement actions to benefit the president’s son.
But the report offered no evidence that Biden had any role in his son’s investigation, which began under Trump and was led by a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney from Delaware. Garland retained U.S. Attorney David Weiss to insulate the investigation from allegations of political interference.
Garland insisted that no one in the White House gave him or other senior Justice Department officials any guidance on how to handle the Hunter Biden investigation.
In addition to Hunter Biden, the report includes details about Joe Biden’s brother, James,’s involvement in various family businesses.
Republicans have pointed to a series of payments they claim show the president benefited from his brother’s work. They point to a $200,000 personal check from James Biden to Joe Biden on the same day in 2018 that James Biden received a similar amount from AmeriCorps.
House Democrats defended the deal, pointing to bank records they say show James Biden He was paying off a loan given to him by his brother, who had sent him a $200,000 wire transfer about six weeks earlier. The money was transferred while Joe Biden was a private citizen.
In the absence of Biden’s impeachment, House Republicans have issued Criminal referrals The House Judiciary Committee is recommending that Hunter Biden and James Biden be impeached, accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of a GOP investigation. Lawyers for the two men have said the allegations are baseless or merely a distraction.
Until recently, the president had been a focal point for Republicans in Congress, but his decision last month to drop out of the presidential race and Harris’ rise to the top of the ticket has forced GOP leaders to reevaluate their important investigation.
A year ago, Republican lawmakers hoped the Biden investigation would build a strong enough case for the “high crimes and misdemeanors” that form the basis of impeachment. But the longer the investigation drags on and the less direct evidence investigators can present against Biden in public hearings or even behind closed doors, the more moderate Republicans are wary of voting on the issue.
The report released Monday includes more than 20 references to the “Biden-Harris administration,” while previous versions of the committees investigating Biden typically referred only directly to him.
Although the report did not name Harris alone, the same committees leading the investigation have begun opening new investigations into her and her vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz.