WASHINGTON – House Republicans on Thursday introduced a measure to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Biden over alleged corruption, setting up a key vote expected next week.
The resolution directs three House committees to determine “whether sufficient grounds exist” to impeach Biden, 81, for his alleged role in the foreign business dealings of his son Hunter and brother James Biden during his vice presidency.
Two sources told The Post that the House tentatively plans to vote Wednesday on the legislation, which will be introduced by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND).
The move came just a day after Biden repeatedly denied having had any interactions with his relatives’ foreign business partners, despite dozens of documented or alleged cases.
“I didn’t. And they’re just a bunch of lies. They’re lies. I didn’t. They’re lies,” Biden exclaimed to a Post reporter at the White House, drawing a rebuke from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R- La.), who he replied“The president just lied again… There are at least 22 examples of Joe Biden speaking or meeting with foreign business partners of Hunter Biden.”
House Republicans have introduced a resolution to impeach President Biden. AFP via Getty Images
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), one of the panel’s three heads leading the investigation, cited Biden’s false claim during a Thursday morning appearance on Fox News.
“We know he had dinners, phone calls and meetings because Hunter Biden’s business partner, Devin Archer, already testified under oath and told us. So to say that didn’t happen makes absolutely no sense,” Jordan said.
There are photographs, records from Hunter’s abandoned laptop, and witness testimony showing that Joe Biden, as sitting vice president, met with his son and brother’s Chinese, Kazakh, Mexican, Russian, and Ukrainian associates, plus many of its American partners.
The impeachment inquiry began Sept. 12 without a floor vote, and the latest move comes as Biden’s relatives resist subpoenas demanding their testimony, and the White House questions the legal authority of the inquiry because of the lack of a formal authorization vote.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) aborted plans for a floor vote in September when several skeptical Republicans said they were not convinced of the need for the investigation.
GOP leaders say they are confident they have the votes in the closely divided House of Representatives, despite being able to afford just four defections following last week’s ouster of Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
IRS whistleblowers testified before the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year that the Justice Department also impeded its five-year investigation into the first son for his alleged tax crimes. AP
A source told The Post that one of the reasons Armstrong is the primary sponsor is because he is well regarded by both conservatives and more moderate Republicans.
In a Sept. 27 memo, the chairs of the three committees leading the investigation, including the tax-focused Ways and Means and Oversight panels, laid out the main issues in the impeachment inquiry, which also include whether the president interfered in the federal investigation. in his son.
The committees have used subpoenas, depositions and voluntary interviews over the past year to advance the investigation of Joe and Hunter Biden, showing through testimony and bank records how the president interacted with his son’s business associates.
Two IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, testified before the Ways and Means Committee over the summer that the Justice Department impeded their five-year investigation into the first son for his alleged tax crimes and barred them from investigating Joe’s role. Biden on foreign earnings. , even though the communications directly implicated him.
The House Judiciary Committee has heard testimony from key officials at the IRS, FBI and Department of Justice that have corroborated details of the whistleblowers’ account.
The Oversight Committee also heard shocking testimony from Archer, who told lawmakers that the then-vice president was put on speaker phone more than 20 times with his son’s associates, dined twice at a D.C. restaurant with contacts from his son in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, he took a call from Hunter and his Ukrainian employers from Dubai, and had coffee in Beijing with a Chinese associate shortly before Hunter co-founded a state-backed investment fund.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn