The House GOP released on Dec. 7 the text of a resolution to formalize the House impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.
The 14-page measure, put forth by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), instructs the House Ways and Means, Oversight and Judiciary Committees to continue their probe into President Biden, who has come under fire for allegedly profiting from his time as vice president and afterward through family foreign business dealings, including with China, that involved his son, Hunter Biden.
The resolution is scheduled for markup on Tuesday with a vote expected later next week.
Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the impeachment inquiry on Sept. 12, without a House vote. The White House had argued the inquiry was illegitimate as a result, prompting top Republicans to concede that while they didn’t think a vote was legally required, it would be better.
“According to the Constitution, you don’t need it, you can start an impeachment inquiry the way we’re doing it,” House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Monday. The impeachment of President Donald Trump had also proceeded the same way, following the authorization of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
“[Former] Speaker of the House [Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] said it three months ago, but we think it always helps if the full House of Representatives on the record, a majority of that body, has said this is an official impeachment inquiry,” Mr. Jordan said, adding he expected court challenges to the impeachment inquiry as well.
The Ohio Republican said he expected the impeachment authorization resolution would pass.
House Republicans have already issued subpoenas to members of the Biden family, including his son Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden is scheduled to attend a closed-door interview with the House investigators in the coming weeks. He has requested a public hearing, the date of which has not been set.
The House GOP has accused the Biden administration of stonewalling during the probe. In response, the White House claims that it has cooperated in turning over more than 35,000 pages of confidential financial records.
The resolution would authorize the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Mr. Jordan, to issue articles of impeachment.
The measure only allows the chairman and ranking members of the committees to initially question the witnesses. A staff member of the committees can question witnesses if allowed by the chairman or ranking member, depending on what side of the aisle the staff member is on.
The resolution also specifics that initial questioning in hearings will be no longer than 90 minutes altogether. Both the majority and the minority will have equal time for questioning.
Additionally, the majority will give the minority some sway during the impeachment inquiry—in an apparent attempt to avoid repeating what the House GOP lamented as unequal treatment during the Trump impeachment inquiry such as not being allowed to have a hearing held by the minority.
“Subpoenas and interrogatories so authorized may be signed by the ranking minority member, and may be served by any person designated by the ranking minority member,” stated the resolution.
The resolution states that the committees can release a report of their findings.
Mr. Armstrong also released the text of a five-page resolution that authorizes the enforcement of subpoenas.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), when asked by The Epoch Times in September, did not rule out subpoenaing President Biden.
“Anything’s possible, but right now, we’re following the money,” he said at the time.
The probe has turned up bank records revealing at least $20 million in payments from foreign entities that were channeled through 20 shell companies to members of the president’s family as well as their business associates.
The payments—sourced from such countries as Russia, China, Ukraine, and Romania—were also observed to have begun during the president’s time as vice president and, in some cases, coincided with his trips to those countries.
Another key finding was that a confidential FBI source had alleged that President Biden received a $5 million bribe to ensure that a Ukrainian prosecutor investigating a company his son worked for was fired.
President Biden earlier this week called allegations about his involvement in his family members’ business dealings a “bunch of lies.”
The White House also issued an 18-page memo disputing the charges and stated that Republicans are pursuing a “baseless impeachment stunt” despite providing no proof of misconduct by President Biden in a continuous effort to defame the president.
According to Ian Sams, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, Republicans are prioritizing the wrong things, and voting for the impeachment inquiry would demonstrate that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is “truly calling the shots.”
Mark Tapscott, Samantha Flom, and Emel Akan contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
