The House Republicans’ anticipated impeachment inquiry report against President Joe Biden was released Monday.
The nearly 300-page report from the GOP-led House committees alleged Biden “engaged in impeachment conduct” during his time as vice president.
The House Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Judiciary, and Ways and Means gathered evidence that suggests Biden ignored conflicts of interest. His family members, including his son and brother, used Biden’s position in the White House as leverage for business dealings in Ukraine, China and other countries, Republican lawmakers allege.
The president’s son, Hunter Biden, who faces tax and firearm possession-related charges, received “special treatment” from the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the report says.
Both President Biden and his son have maintained they are innocent.
The report states, “The Constitution’s remedy for a President’s flagrant abuse of office is clear: impeachment by the House of Representatives and removal by the Senate.”
What GOP leadership said about the impeachment inquiry report
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the report “conclusively” found Biden abused his time in office for the financial benefit of his family and friends.
“The facts speak for themselves, and Democrats can no longer stretch the truth to cover for President Biden,” said Jordan.
Amid the Democratic National Convention this week, where Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to earn the Democratic presidential nomination, Jordan said, “Americans should remember the reality of the Biden-Harris administration: crime, chaos, and corruption.”
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chairman of the Oversight Committee, said the GOP’s efforts “exposed the truth” about Biden.
But White House spokesperson Sharon Yang pushed back on the report, calling it a “failed” attempt to impeach the president.
“After wasting nearly two years and millions of taxpayer dollars, House Republicans have finally given up on their wild goose chase,” Yang said, according to CNN.
“This failed stunt will only be remembered for how it became an embarrassment that their own members distanced themselves from as they only managed to turn up evidence that refuted their false and baseless conspiracy theories.”
According to The Associated Press, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said, “We encourage all Americans to read this report,” but refrained from signaling the Republican Conference’s plans for impeachment. It’s unclear if the GOP leadership has enough votes to pass articles of impeachment with a small Republican majority in the House. Biden’s removal would also depend on the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Democrats respond to GOP report
House Democrats countered the GOP report with a 72-page memo, saying that even after going through 3.8 million pages of documents and 80 hours of testimony from witnesses, Republicans can’t prove Biden committed “any wrongdoing, let alone any high crime, misdemeanor, or other impeachable offense.”
The report noted a transaction that showed the president issued a $200,000 check from his brother, James Biden. The Democratic memo defended this transaction, saying the money was a loan, eventually repaid by the president’s brother.
As The Hill noted, the report doesn’t say whether Biden directly received money from his family’s business dealings. Neither does it suggest foreign players influenced Biden’s policies.
This impeachment inquiry was launched under former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in September last year.