It is unclear if House Republicans, who have a narrow 221-212 majority, would have the votes at the end of the inquiry to support actual impeachment. But even if that vote succeeded, it is highly unlikely that the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority, would vote to remove Biden from office.
At the center of the investigation are allegations that Biden, as vice president, pressured Ukraine to fire a top prosecutor because the prosecutor was investigating Burisma, a company for which Hunter Biden was on the board of directors.
But Ukraine’s president at time, Petro Poroshenko, told Fox News Channel on Saturday that was not the case.
House Republicans have said they plan to seek personal and business bank records for Hunter Biden and James Biden, the president’s brother.
On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee said it had obtained bank wires from Chinese nationals sent to Hunter, listing Joe Biden’s home address in Delaware as the destination, before he was president. It is not clear if Biden received the money.
The hearing comes as House Republicans are locked in a showdown with Biden and his fellow Democrats over government funding for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Wide swaths of the government will shut down if they do not reach agreement.
A prolonged shutdown could slow the impeachment inquiry as fewer administration officials would be available to respond to information requests.
White House spokesman Ian Sams said House Republicans were prioritizing “conspiracy theories” over keeping the government open.
Former President Trump has cheered on the inquiry. Trump was impeached twice during his four-year presidency and faces four criminal indictments – the first time for allegedly pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden ahead of the 2020 election. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.
Source: CNA
