House Republicans Hold First Hearing on Biden Impeachment Inquiry – On Thursday, Republicans conducted their inaugural impeachment hearing targeting Joe Biden. This marks a continuation of their extensive investigation into the president and his son Hunter’s business affairs, which, so far, has failed to uncover substantial evidence of misconduct.
Nevertheless, Republicans are persisting with their efforts, seemingly attempting to create confusion, even as Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the Republican primary, contends with four separate criminal cases. “There are 61 hours and 25 minutes until the government shuts down because of extreme House Republicans’ chaos and inability to govern.”
“The consequences for the American people will be very damaging – from lost jobs, to troops working without pay, to jeopardizing important efforts to fight fentanyl, deliver disaster relief, provide food assistance, and more. Nothing can distract from that,” the White House said in a statement. In his opening statement, Representative James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House oversight committee, claimed the panel had obtained a “mountain of evidence” showing corruption.
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“He lied by telling the American people that there was an ‘absolute wall’ between his official government duties and his personal life. Let’s be clear: there was no wall. The door was wide open to those who purchased what a business associate described as ‘The Biden Brand’,” he said. Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri who serves as the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, asserted that there was a link between Biden and his son’s business activities.
Despite Republicans’ inability to substantiate such a connection. “”Whether it was lunches, phone calls, White House meetings or official foreign trips, Hunter Biden cashed in by arranging access to Joe Biden, the family brand,” Smith said in his opening remarks. Representative Jamie Raskin, the leading Democrat on the committee, delivered an extensive criticism of Republicans for their emphasis on impeachment just days before the potential government shutdown caused by insufficient funding.
“We’re 62 hours away from shutting down the government of the United States of America and Republicans are launching an impeachment drive based on a long debunked and discredited lie,” he said. “They don’t have the votes because dozens of Republicans recognize what a futile and absurd process this is.” Thursday’s hearing, led by the House oversight committee, is titled The Basis for an Impeachment Inquiry of President Joseph R Biden Jr. Three witnesses are scheduled to appear.
One is Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University and paid Fox News contributor who testified against Trump’s first impeachment. “I have previously stated that, while I believe that an impeachment inquiry is warranted, I do not believe that the evidence currently meets the standard of a high crime and misdemeanor needed for an article of impeachment,” Turley said in prepared testimony. Another is Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant who has made misleading claims about Hunter Biden’s finances.
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“I am not here today to even suggest that there was corruption, fraud, or any wrongdoing. In my opinion, more information needs to be gathered and assessed before I would make such an assessment,” he said in his opening statement. The hearing coincides with the Republicans’ difficulties in approving a budget to maintain the operation of the US government. Democrats are using the Thursday hearing as an opportunity to criticize Republicans for not taking the budget approval seriously.