(Washington Examiner) The House voted Wednesday to authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, a move that Republicans hope will assist them in enforcing their subpoenas and requests for documents.
The authorization of the inquiry passed along party lines, 221-212.
Back in September, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unilaterally announced that the House would open an impeachment inquiry into Biden to investigate whether he had committed high crimes and misdemeanors.
The probe has focused on whether Biden improperly used his position of power when he was vice president to enrich himself and his family, whether he used his influence as president to pressure the Department of Justice to avoid prosecuting his son Hunter Biden for certain charges, and how involved Joe Biden was in his family’s foreign business dealings.
A focus of the probe is an allegation raised in an FBI tip sheet that said Joe and Hunter Biden took bribes from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company for which Hunter Biden was a board member, in exchange for then-Vice President Biden pressuring the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor.
However, those leading the inquiry, Reps. James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Jason Smith (R-MO), have been unable to produce conclusive evidence to prove existing allegations but hope that by authorizing an impeachment inquiry, they can gather information to prove or dismiss those allegations.
“President Biden must be held accountable for his lies and obstruction,” Comer said while debating the resolution.
They now believe that by having the full House authorize the inquiry, they will now have more legal power to enforce the subpoenas and requests for information.
