Last week, Speaker Kevin McCarthy directed House committees to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Republicans claim to have uncovered wrongdoing by Joe Biden and his family through the House Oversight Committee’s investigations. McCarthy, while announcing the impeachment inquiry, leveled numerous allegations against the President, alleging a “culture of corruption” within the Biden family.
McCarthy stated, “Today, I am directing our house committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather all of the facts and answers for the American public.”
In response to McCarthy’s announcement, White House spokesperson Ian Sams posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, stating, “House Republicans have been investigating the President for 9 months, and they’ve turned up no evidence of wrongdoing […] His own GOP members have said so […] He vowed to hold a vote to open impeachment, now he flip-flopped because he doesn’t have support. Extreme politics at its worst.”
President Biden, when asked about the House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, responded with a smile, saying, “Lots of luck.”
Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, was indicted on three gun-related charges last Thursday. Republicans have accused Hunter of questionable business dealings with Ukraine, most notably a scandal involving controversial emails allegedly written by Hunter and obtained by the New York Post that appear to outline agreements with foreign companies.
Here is a summary of the accusations against Joe and Hunter Biden and the information we have regarding them:
1. Biden Lied About Foreign Business Dealings:
McCarthy claimed that Joe Biden lied to the American people about his knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings. McCarthy mentioned that eyewitnesses testified that the President participated in phone calls and dinners with his son’s business partners, resulting in significant financial gains for Hunter and his associates.
What we know:
Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer, testified before Congress in July, stating that Hunter Biden aimed to create an “illusion of access to his father” and put Joe Biden on the phone with foreign associates around 20 times over approximately 10 years. However, Archer also clarified that the President was not directly involved in their financial dealings.
Representative Andy Biggs stated that Archer told lawmakers that “Burisma would have gone out of business sooner if the Biden brand had not been invoked.” Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, emphasized that there is no evidence of President Biden engaging in conflicts of interest related to Hunter’s business ventures.
2. The Bidens Received Millions of Dollars:
McCarthy accused the President and his family of receiving nearly $20 million in payments through various shell companies.
What we know:
In May, Republicans released a 36-page memo, which included redacted images of transactions involving bank accounts reportedly belonging to members of the Biden family. These documents did not provide evidence of Joe Biden’s direct involvement in alleged schemes or their impact on U.S. policy. The records indicated that Biden family members, including Hunter and Joe’s brother Jimmy Biden, received millions of dollars from foreign businesses, including payments to associates, not just family members.
3. Biden Family Business Dealings Were Flagged as Suspicious:
McCarthy claimed that the Treasury Department identified more than 150 transactions involving the Bidens and other business associates as “suspicious.”
What we know:
In November 2022, the House Oversight Committee announced an investigation into Joe Biden’s potential ties to Hunter’s financial and business activities. Republican Representative James Comer disclosed the existence of 150 “suspicious activity reports” (SARs) related to the Bidens. SARs are filed by financial institutions to alert law enforcement about potentially suspicious transactions linked to terrorism financing or money laundering. Both the Justice Department and Senate investigators reviewed these reports but did not bring criminal charges.
4. Biden Family Took $5 Million Bribes:
McCarthy alleged that even a trusted FBI informant had claimed a bribe involving the Biden family.
What we know:
Accusations suggest that Joe and Hunter Biden were coerced into accepting $5 million each from a Ukrainian gas giant, Burisma, as part of an influence-peddling scheme during Joe Biden’s vice presidency. House Republican Chuck Grassley revealed an FBI document detailing unverified claims from a confidential source and mentioned audio tapes of phone conversations with the Bidens. However, the document did not provide evidence of specific conversations between the President, his son, and the Burisma official.
The Justice Department under the Trump administration investigated these allegations and found them unsupported by facts. Joe Biden has publicly denied these allegations.
5. Hunter Biden’s Laptop:
Hunter Biden’s laptop became widely known a month before the 2020 election when the New York Post reported that Hunter had dropped off a laptop at a Delaware computer repair shop. The story cited documents from the laptop to support claims that Joe Biden influenced U.S. foreign policy in Ukraine to benefit his son.
What we know:
The computer repair shop owner, John Paul Mac Isaac, confirmed that a man identifying himself as Hunter Biden visited his shop and asked to retrieve data from the laptop. Mac Isaac also reported the laptop to the FBI. The FBI subsequently served a subpoena to obtain the laptop and its external hard drive.
Hunter’s legal team reached a plea deal in which he would plead guilty to two misdemeanors related to federal tax issues while avoiding prosecution on the felony firearms charge. However, the deal fell apart during a court hearing in July due to a disagreement regarding immunity for an ongoing investigation.
6. Hunter Biden’s Indictment:
Special Counsel David Weiss indicted Hunter Biden on charges related to lying about his addiction when purchasing a firearm in 2018.
What we know:
Hunter’s legal team initially agreed to a plea deal, but it later collapsed during a court hearing in July due to a dispute over immunity for an ongoing investigation.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refrained from commenting on materials from the laptop, referring journalists to Hunter’s representatives.
These allegations and the ongoing investigations continue to be a subject of political debate and controversy. The White House has maintained that many of the allegations lack substantial evidence or rely on non-credible sources. President Biden has publicly addressed some of these allegations, denying any wrongdoing.
This impeachment inquiry marks another chapter in the ongoing political battles surrounding the Biden family’s business dealings and their potential legal implications.