The House of Representatives authorized a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over allegations of public corruption and abuse of office while he served as Vice-President. The strictly party-line vote saw all 221 Republican Members of the House vote in favor of the impeachment inquiry despite speculation earlier in the day one or two would vote against adoption.
President Joe Biden is accused of using his position as then-Vice President of the United States to enrich himself and members of his family. He is alleged to have abused his office on behalf of his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business clients. In return for Joe Biden’s assistance, Hunter’s clients made payments to various members of the Biden family to obfuscate the bribery scheme.
In addition to abuse of public office, House Republicans are investigating actions taken by President Biden to protect his son from legal action pertaining to his failure to pay income taxes, illegal possession of a fire arm, and failure to register as a foreign agent – among other crimes.
The adoption of a formal impeachment inquiry will give additional weight to Congressional subpoenas issued by the investigating committees. Reps. James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Jason Smith (R-MO) who are leading the House investigation have argued establishing a formal inquiry through a vote of the full House would give them a stronger legal position in court should they need to bring litigation against the Biden White House. While defying a Congressional subpoena is considered a crime, the legal bearing of subpoenas issued without the inquiry vote is unclear.