House Republicans announced that a vote on whether to formalize the impeachment inquiry regarding President Joe Biden will take place next week. The announcement by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) coincides with a number of subpoenas and requests for records issued by House Republicans.
House Republicans argue that an impeachment inquiry gives them more latitude to investigate the Biden family’s business dealings. Bank accounts linked to different members of the Biden family received millions in transactions from foreign sources.
While the impeachment probe began on Sept. 13, it has not been formally adopted by the House.
Johnson said that the formalization of the impeachment probe will allow for greater access to records currently blocked by the White House.
“The House has no choice if it’s going to follow its constitutional responsibility to formally adopt an impeachment inquiry on the floor so that when the subpoenas are challenged in court, we will be at the apex of our constitutional authority,” he said.
The speaker said that the issue at hand was not a political one, but instead a “legal” and a “constitutional” decision.”
“And whether someone is for or against impeachment is of no import right now,” he said.
The House Oversight Committee recently subpoenaed both President Joe Biden’s son Hunter and his brother James. Hunter Biden’s legal team requested testifying in public while James Biden’s attorneys rejected the proposed date requested for this week.
Last month the speaker said that while House Republicans took “no pleasure in the proceedings here, we have a responsibility to do it. We owe it to the American people to continue this process but to do it methodically and transparently.”
Mike Johnson on Biden impeachment:
"While we take no pleasure in the proceedings here, we have a responsibility to do it. We owe it to the American people to continue this process but to do it methodically and transparently." pic.twitter.com/pN24iJPBNX
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 29, 2023
The news also comes after a joint effort from the House Judiciary, Ways and Means and Oversight Committees released a report on the alleged “deviations” of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its probe of Hunter Biden.
The report indicates that the DOJ twice impeded the efforts of U.S. Attorney David Weiss to charge the president’s son.
