On Thursday, House Republicans initiated the first impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden amidst allegations surrounding bribery and financial misconduct linked to personal business dealings led by his son, Hunter Biden. The Republicans claim to possess substantial evidence supporting the allegations that Hunter Biden received over $20 million from various foreign entities in China, Ukraine, and Russia, among others. Hunter is also entangled in legal issues related to firearms and taxes.
The core of the impeachment inquiry is to ascertain the extent of President Biden’s involvement and benefits from these alleged dealings, as Democrats argue that the evidence is insufficient. According to House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., evidence suggests that former Vice President Joe Biden had interactions and developed relationships with foreign business targets associated with his family. These targets reportedly include foreign oligarchs who transferred millions to the Biden family and a Chinese national who wired $250,000 to his son.
A particular wire transfer from a Chinese national caught the media’s attention, adding more substance to the allegations against the president. Comer revealed that multiple wire transfers from Chinese nationals had the president’s home address in Wilmington, Delaware, as the beneficiary address. These transactions occurred during Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. The House Oversight Committee has reportedly discovered over 20 shell companies, created mostly during Joe Biden’s vice presidency, accumulating over $24 million from 2014 to 2019. Additionally, nine members of the Biden family are believed to have participated in or benefited from these business ventures.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who initiated the impeachment inquiry, highlighted these wire transfers in a discussion with reporters. He emphasized the contradiction between Joe Biden’s previous claims of not receiving money from China and the recent findings. McCarthy also mentioned an instance where Hunter Biden accompanied his father on Air Force Two to China, which led to a meeting with a Chinese business executive, Jonathan Li.
Earlier in the week, the House Ways and Means Committee disclosed documents, including an email from Hunter Biden boasting about negotiating a $10 million annual contract for merely making introductions. Despite these revelations, Democrats remained firm during the hearing, dismissing the evidence against President Biden as inconclusive.
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., labeled the allegations as “preposterous” and a “fairy tale,” accusing former President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani of propagating this “conspiracy theory.” The Democrats also drew attention to the numerous charges facing Trump, contrasting his legal woes with Biden’s clean record over his extensive public service career.
The Democrats criticized the Republicans for diverting attention to impeachment at a time when a new spending measure is urgently needed to prevent a government shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., condemned the Republicans for prioritizing the impeachment inquiry over addressing the imminent government shutdown threat, deeming it a misuse of time and taxpayer money.