The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to formalize an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden by a vote of 221 to 212.
The formally adopted status will enable House investigators to enforce subpoenas and gather evidence about whether the president is compromised and “traded official acts for foreign dollars,” according to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
Republicans unanimously voted to adopt the resolution. In a surprise, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who had been critical of the Republicans’ impeachment focus and earlier indicated he would oppose the resolution, voted with his Republican colleagues to formalize the inquiry.
Democrats voted in a block to oppose the resolution’s adoption.
The White House failed to provide investigators:
- Information about two loan agreements Joe Biden allegedly executed with James Biden for a total of $240,000.
- 99.98 percent of requested records from President Joe Biden, including alias emails.
- Documents about an alleged $5 million bribe Joe Biden accepted.
- Materials related to Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents.
The vote was a test for House Republicans, who only hold a slight majority that will shrink further this month after Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) announced resignation. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-FL) is also expected to leave in the new year to take a university post.
Speaker, McCarthy opened an “impeachment inquiry” into the president on September 12, but lawmakers did not vote to approve the measure until Wednesday.
“I don’t see the evidence of it,” Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) told Semafor about the inquiry, “But yes, when your own son and your own brother are clearly, at the very least unethical and at worst, doing illegal things — my goodness, of course the country pays attention to it.”
“I have a pit in my stomach about it,” a Democrat strategist who worked on Clinton’s 2016 campaign told the Messenger about the chaos surrounding Hunter Biden. “This Hunter story has the legs to ruin things for Biden.”
The vote occurred hours after a defiant Hunter Biden appeared at the Capitol for a press conference after failing to appear for a subpoenaed closed-door deposition Wednesday. Hunter’s business dealings and his father’s alleged knowledge and involvement will be a focal point for House investigators.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) initiated contempt of Congress proceedings against Hunter after his failure to appear.
Recent polling shows Americans are highly skeptical of Hunter and Joe Biden:
- ABC News/Ipsos: A plurality of Americans are not confident about how the Justice Department handled the investigation into Hunter Biden.
- Yahoo/YouGov: A majority of voters believe President Joe Biden committed a crime with Hunter Biden.
- TIPP: 63 percent say Joe Biden violated FARA by assisting Hunter Biden in Ukraine deal.
House investigators opened a probe into the Biden family in November 2022. They revealed Joe Biden received money from James and Hunter Biden. They also showed that nine additional Biden family members received payments from the family’s foreign business ventures, including two of Joe Biden’s grandchildren.
Nothing will happen to this family…..don’t be fooled.
this shit needs to be taken to the peoples court, f#ck trusting anything government to make a fair decision
He should have been impeached long ago.
He is the worst President in history.
For once the Republicans all. Voted yes for the impeachment inquiry. Maybe a good start. Proud of Mike Johnson standing up to Biden on no money on Ukraine and forcing him to do something about closing the border.
Dems count on the American people not paying attention to their illegal behavior.
I sincerely hope the GOP brings every bit of damning evidence to the people and shows how Biden was bribed.