Republican-led panels issue Biden impeachment investigation report without suggesting the House initiate formal impeachment proceedings
The 291-page report repeats unsubstantiated allegations to suggest that Biden intentionally took part in a scheme, utilizing his position as vice president and beyond, to enrich his family financially. This matter is left for the House of Representatives to assess.
The report was disclosed on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, prior to Biden's scheduled speech. CNN contacted the White House for comment but has yet to receive a response.
The release of the report happens at a delicate moment for House Republicans. After initiating impeachment proceedings against Biden 11 months ago, they have failed to persuade their slim majority to move forward with impeachment charges. With Biden no longer seeking re-election, congressional focus has shifted towards the 2024 presidency. Hence, the push to continue scrutinizing Biden and his family using investigatory resources has weakened as well.
It ultimately falls upon House Speaker Mike Johnson to decide whether to push for impeachment during the House's 3-week return to Washington in September, while concurrently addressing the September 30 government funding deadline.
GOP Representative Lisa McClain from Michigan, who serves on the House Oversight Committee, stated last month that the investigation's outcome is insignificant given the current political landscape.
Another GOP House Judiciary Committee member acknowledged the report's depoliticization as Biden no longer faces voters.
"I think the American people have the right to know about the family enterprises," GOP Representative Tom McClintock of California said before the report's release.
GOP Representative Doug LaMalfa of California, who believed impeaching Biden would be unproductive, mentioned in July that while it would be beneficial to tidy up the report, investing excessive effort to finalize it would be ineffective.
This was not the desired conclusion for Republicans who spent months analyzing subpoenaed financial records and engaging in key interviews with Hunter and James Biden, as well as several of their business associates.
Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has long advocated for Biden's impeachment, expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation's ending.
However, other Republicans maintained that releasing the report was imperative despite the political climate. After Biden's debacle in June that weakened his re-election prospects, Republicans withheld the report to let the intraparty struggles continue, but with election day approaching and Biden withdrawing from the race, Republicans acknowledged the deadline's urgency.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is leading the inquiry, saw a necessity to release the findings and issued a report. House Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, another key figure in the investigation, aimed to combat influence peddling through legislation and has never believed his role included impeachment, even if he supported it.
A Judiciary Committee member, Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, commented that Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race had no impact on the inquiry's conclusion.
"I wanted this investigation to culminate in truth," Hageman said. "Regardless of the outcome, my goal was for the American people to recognize the severity of the Biden family's misconduct."
GOP's accusations of 'influence peddling and corruption'
The Republican-led report claims to expose a long-term phenomenon of influence peddling and corruption centered around and facilitated by Joe Biden. However, it primarily reiterates past Republican theories that exaggerate Biden's involvement in his brother's and son's foreign businesses, which the report claims generated "over $18 million from foreign sources."
The report's most damaging claim is that Hunter Biden, James Biden, and their business partners knowingly sold "the brand" – or potential access to Joe Biden.
However, one of these business partners, Devon Archer, who was convicted in a separate fraud case unrelated to the Bidens, testified that they only offered an "illusion" of access.
Archer revealed to investigators that Hunter Biden placed his father on the phone "maybe 20 times" during meetings with foreign partners, and they perceived this as "access and influence," according to the report, citing Archer's testimony, which had been made public months prior.
"The individuals who purchased this 'illusion' of access from Biden family members did, in fact, obtain private, non-disclosed access to Joe Biden," the report reminds us.
However, Archer also testified that "nothing" substantial to the business was discussed during the conversations or dinners where Joe Biden was present. And the Republican report fails to include any new evidence of substantial business interactions between Joe Biden and his family's business associates in Ukraine, China, Russia, or elsewhere.
The report alleges that it was recognized that "the Biden family business strategy revolved around Joe Biden's influence and political positions," as indicated by Archer's testimony. However, this isn't necessarily a new revelation; even Hunter Biden himself has admitted that he likely wouldn't have been appointed to the highly paid Burisma energy firm board if he wasn't Joe Biden's son.
Earlier claims resurface from ex-associate of the Biden family business
The report presents unverified allegations from ex-Biden family business associate Tony Bobulinski, with claims that have been contradicted by other sources.
According to the report, Bobulinski testified that Joe Biden was not only involved in his family's business activities but also played an enabling role, despite attempts to maintain distance for plausible deniability.
However, other Biden family business associates have declared that Joe Biden was not involved in any of his family's foreign business ventures, either as a private citizen or as vice president.
Despite the Republicans seizing on these claims, Democrats have dismissed Bobulinski as an unreliable source.
The report features a 2017 email from James Gilliar, described as another Biden family associate, to Bobulinski, which mentions "compensation packages" for a venture involving Chinese energy interests. The message allegedly outlines a "provisional agreement" for equity distribution, with specific numerical breakdowns and initials, including "10 held by H for the big guy?"
Bobulinski claimed that H referred to Hunter Biden, and the "big guy" referred to Joe Biden.
Hunter Biden's lawyers have argued that the proposed equity distribution was never implemented in an agreement and was, in fact, a suggestion from Bobulinski himself, never acknowledged by Hunter Biden.
Bobulinski disputed this, asserting that Hunter Biden responded to the email multiple times.
Additionally, the report alleges that in another exchange, Hunter Biden implied a threat to a Chinese energy conglomerate officials using his father's name.
“We would like to understand why the agreement hasn’t been fulfilled,” the message stated, as per the report. “If I get a call or text from anyone involved in this, other than you or a few chosen individuals, I will make sure that between the man sitting next to me and everyone he knows, you will regret not adhering to my direction.”
Joe Biden has condemned House Republicans' accusations that he engaged in business dealings with his son and brother, labelling the claims as "lies."
Report accuses White House of obstructing Congress' access to critical information and witnesses
The report also criticizes the White House and its officials for obstructing Congress' efforts to obtain crucial documents and witnesses related to investigations into Biden's handling of classified documents and his son's business affairs.
Following the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur's investigation report into Biden's handling of classified documents, the committees sought access to the audio recording of the two-day interview Biden gave to Hur in October. Although Hur's report did not result in charges against Biden, it contained damaging assessments of the president's age and mental fitness.
The transcript of Biden's interview was made public weeks later, but Republicans have demanded the release of the original recording, arguing it would provide greater insight into Biden's cognitive abilities. They also accused the White House of tampering with official transcripts of Biden's statements.
President Biden invoked executive privilege over the audio files, and the DOJ has defended its decision to preserve their privacy and discourage cooperation from future witnesses.
The report additionally claims that the White House hindered the National Archives and Records Administration in providing the requested emails sent and received by Joe Biden from his pseudonymous email account during his tenure as vice president.
The investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes and business dealings was reportedly obstructed by the Biden administration, despite the fact that many of the allegations stemmed from before Biden officially announced his 2020 candidacy. The FBI and IRS investigations into Hunter Biden began in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
The report states that "from the outset, the FBI, DOJ, and IRS [were] well aware of the sensitivity surrounding the case given the Bidens' prominent status in Delaware." Consequently, investigators were required to adhere to additional procedures, which allegedly delayed the progress of the investigations.
A person from the IRS working on the Biden investigation, later turning into a whistleblower accusing political manipulation within the probe, declared that an FBI agent based in Wilmington was anxious about potential repercussions for him and his household if he needed to be a part of a Biden case in Delaware. Leading IRS authorities have challenged the whistleblower's assertions.
Credit: CNN's Asher Moskowitz for the report.
- The release of the Republican-led report has once again brought politics into the spotlight, as the GOP accuses Joe Biden of involvement in his family's foreign business dealings.
- Despite the report's claim that Biden utilized his political position for financial gain, the political landscape and the ongoing focus on the 2024 presidency may influence how political leaders choose to respond.
