Biden officially a target of House impeachment inquiry after vote

The House voted Wednesday to authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, a move Republicans hope will assist them in enforcing their subpoenas and requests for documents.

The authorization of the inquiry passed along party lines 221-212.

HUNTER BIDEN DODGES HOUSE DEPOSITION BUT SHOWS UP IN DC AS GOP THREATENS CONTEMPT VOTE

In September, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unilaterally announced that the House would open an impeachment inquiry into Biden to investigate whether he had committed high crimes and misdemeanors.

The investigation has focused on whether Biden improperly used his position of power when he was vice president to enrich himself and his family, whether he used his influence as president to pressure the Department of Justice to avoid prosecuting his son, Hunter Biden, for certain charges, and how involved Joe Biden was in his family’s foreign business dealings.

Evan Vucci/AP

A focus of the investigation is an allegation raised in an FBI tip sheet that said Joe and Hunter Biden took bribes from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company for which Hunter Biden was a board member, in exchange for then-Vice President Biden pressuring the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor.

However, those leading the inquiry, Reps. James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Jason Smith (R-MO), have been unable to produce conclusive evidence to prove existing allegations but hope that by authorizing an impeachment inquiry, they can gather information to prove or dismiss those allegations.

“President Biden must be held accountable for his lies and obstruction,” Comer said while debating the resolution.

They now believe that by having the full House authorize the inquiry, they will now have more legal power to enforce the subpoenas and requests for information.

The vote comes just hours after Hunter Biden showed up at the Capitol to read a statement to the media, defying a congressional subpoena to sit for a closed-door deposition.

“For six years, I’ve been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine shouting, ‘Where’s Hunter?’ Here’s my answer: I’m right here,” the younger Biden said.

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The White House and congressional Democrats have been critical of Republicans opening an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, claiming it is a political witch hunt not based on facts or reality.

“Instead of doing anything to help make Americans’ lives better, they are focused on attacking me with lies,” Joe Biden said in a statement after the vote. “Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts.”