Biden impeachment: Top Democrat moves to subpoena Giuliani, GOP shoots it down

The first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Joe Biden got off to a rocky start when House Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) used his opening statement to make a motion that would throw the proceedings into chaos.

Since the oversight investigation began, Raskin has claimed that all the information the Republicans on the committee have released is just a rehashing of the allegations raised by former President Donald Trump, which eventually led to his first impeachment.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: HOW YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS WILL BE AFFECTED

Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, has been a leading factor in the Oversight Committee’s investigation into Joe Biden.

So, Raskin made a motion to subpoena Rudy Giuliani and his former associate Lev Parnas, who was tasked with digging up dirt on Biden and his family’s connection to Ukraine ahead of the 2020 election.

“If this dysfunctional body is going to insist on going forward, we must receive the testimony of Rudy Giuliani and Lev Parnas,” Raskin said.

He then made a motion to subpoena both individuals. Immediately after, House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) made a motion to table Raskin’s motion. But, because Republicans on the committee were not all present, they did not have the votes to table it.

So, the Republicans who were present used procedural measures to filibuster until enough GOP members could show up and vote to table it. After 20 minutes, Republicans successfully tabled the motion 20 votes to 19.

Prior to the motion, Comer and the two other chairmen leading the impeachment inquiry, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), made their opening remarks where they laid out the reason for pursuing this impeachment inquiry into the president.

“I think this is a tale as old as time,” Jordan said. “Politician takes action that makes money for his family, and then he tries to conceal it.”

Jordan then laid out “four key facts” the committees have uncovered that “will never change.”

Fact one is Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma and made a lot of money doing so; fact two is Hunter Biden was not qualified to sit on the board of Burisma; fact three is Burisma asked Hunter Biden to get “D.C.” to weigh in and pressure the Ukrainian government to get a prosecutor off their back; and fact four is Joe Biden went to Ukraine in 2015 and pressured the Ukrainian government to fire the Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin or else America would withhold aid to the country.

“That’s why this inquiry is so darn important,” Jordan said. “It’s the oldest story in the world, and those are the facts.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Smith’s opening statement focused mostly on information his committee released on Wednesday that laid out more communication between Hunter Biden and foreign business associates.

“The Biden family sold access to Joe Biden’s power, and the Biden Justice Department protected the Biden brand,” Smith said. “We must continue to follow the facts.”