President Biden officially a target of House impeachment inquiry after formal vote

The House voted Wednesday to authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, a move that 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

Back 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 probe 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.

A focus of the probe 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.

“Marjorie Taylor Greene and the most extreme members of the House Republican conference are pushing ahead with this partisan smear campaign despite the fact that members of their own party have admitted there is no evidence to support impeaching President Biden,” Ian Sams, White House Spokesperson for Oversight and Investigations said Monday.