WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Monday formally called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden, releasing a lengthy report accusing him of corruption and seeking to allow his family to benefit from his office in connection with foreign business deals made by his son Hunter. accused of gross tax crimes.
In the 291-page document, released on the day Democrats gather in Chicago for the start of their caucuses, Republicans call Biden’s actions “vicious” and say he should be impeached for abuse of power and obstruction. However, the report contains no evidence that Biden, while vice president, participated in corrupt kickbacks to his son’s business associates, and Republicans admit they have no direct evidence that he ordered the Justice Department to intervene in the Hunter Biden investigation. .
“An abuse of power may also be present even if, as some argue, the Biden family was merely selling the ‘illusion’ of influence and access,” the report states, adding: “The House does not need to show that the transactions involved a quid pro quo to rise to the level of an impeachable felony.”
Subscribe to The Morning newsletter from the New York Times
The Bidens and several of their business associates have repeatedly denied that Biden was involved in his son’s businesses, despite attempts by some business associates to make deals for him after he stepped down as vice president.
“I did not include my father in my business, not as a lawyer, not in my domestic or international investments or transactions, not as a board member, not as an artist, ever,” Hunter Biden said at the inauguration. statement to the committees in February.
Still, Republicans argue they don’t have to prove Biden personally benefited from his son’s business deals, took a bribe or otherwise committed a crime, arguing in part that Democrats lowered the impeachment threshold in their bid for President Donald Trump in 2019
“In 2019, House Democrats argued that impeachable offenses need not rise to the level of criminal activity,” the report states, adding: “The House can therefore impeach President Biden for non-criminal conduct that significantly undermines the political system or betrays the public trust.”
Like the impeachment inquiry itself, the report, produced after months of investigation by the Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committee, appears designed for maximum political impact. It will be days before Democrats formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee and try to tie her to what it portrays as Biden’s misdeeds, using the phrase “Biden-Harris administration” 21 times.
The document is the result of more than 30 interviews — including with Hunter Biden and the president’s brother James — more than 30 subpoenas and millions of pages of documents reviewed by the committees.
But the country’s political conditions have changed greatly since they began their research. First, Kevin McCarthy of California, the former speaker who ordered the investigation last year, is no longer in Congress, having been ousted by his own party and replaced by Speaker Mike Johnson, who also supports the investigation. .
On the other hand, Biden is now a lame-duck president, ending his re-election bid last month after a poor debate performance that caused Democrats to lose confidence in his ability to defeat Trump.
For months, House Republicans have been unable to get votes to impeach Biden because some members of the party have been reluctant to impeach the president on what they see as weak evidence, and Biden’s sudden withdrawal from the race further undermined the need to do so. But some right-wingers in Congress are agitating for impeachment. Some partisan concerns could force Republicans from swing districts into a politically tricky vote as the GOP tries to hold on to a majority in the House of Representatives.
The report cites a number of allegations against Biden, ranging from Hunter and James Biden’s foreign business interests; his handling of classified documents; Hunter Biden art sale; and the slow pace of the Justice Department’s Hunter Biden investigation.
But it relies entirely on circumstantial evidence and inferences to impeach the president.
“President Joe Biden plotted influence peddling and gerrymandering,” Republicans claim. “In doing so, he abused his office and, by repeatedly lying about his official position, has defrauded the United States to enrich his family.”
The account provides a detailed and completely unflattering picture of Hunter and James Biden’s business practices, essentially accusing them of forming partnerships with dubious foreign business interests that suggested they could influence decisions in the United States or generate big paydays, but then repeatedly reneged on those promises.
“In fact, the entire business of Hunter Biden and James Biden was in many ways focused on hinting, implying, or outright promising what Joe Biden’s power could do for certain foreign interests,” the report said.
It says that the men’s business practices allowed them to collect millions of dollars and lavish gifts. Hunter Biden received two diamonds from Chinese companies and a $142,000 sports car from a Kazakh businessman. According to the report, a Chinese company gave James Biden’s wife a credit card for personal expenses, even though she had no role in their business deal.
No law enforcement agency has accused the Bidens of illegal business activity. And it is neither illegal nor unusual for the families of powerful people to benefit from their proximity to power.
Billy Carter, brother of President Jimmy Carter, received a $220,000 loan from Libya. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s company has received hundreds of millions from the Persian Gulf countries.
House Democrats have traced at least $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments that Trump’s companies received during his presidency.
But in their impeachment report, Republicans try to compare Hunter Biden’s consulting and law business unfavorably to the Trump family’s ventures.
“The Bidens had no golf course, real estate, clothing line or media business,” the report said. “They were selling political influence, and their business was ‘consulting’ without being lobbyists.”
And they allege that Hunter Biden provided access to the president for his business associates.
“While Joe Biden’s defenders have sought to characterize these actions as mere ‘illusions’ of access to Joe Biden, this is false,” the report said. “Foreign business associates of the Biden family actually gained real access to Joe Biden in private circumstances that were never meant to be revealed, as reflected in shifting narratives that deny and then minimize Joe Biden’s centrality in cities of influence.”
One key witness mentioned repeatedly – 165 times – in the report is Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer, who was convicted of betraying a Native American tribe.
Archer told lawmakers during his interview that Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone to talk to his business partners about 20 times over a decade. Archer said the conversations were never about business, but that they sent a signal to those who heard that Hunter Biden had access to his father. He has described the interaction as an “abuse of soft power”.
But the impeachment report omits Archer’s testimony that he believed Biden had done nothing wrong.
“Are you aware of Vice President Biden’s misconduct?” he was asked.
“No, I’m not aware of anything,” Archer replied in a conversation not mentioned in the document.
The House does not return until September, when it is possible that a Republican could force an impeachment vote. Any impeachment attempt, even if successful in the House, is certain to fail in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Lawmakers could also move to reform the president’s ethics code. Dueling bills are currently taking place on the subject and there is deep disagreement about the best way to proceed.
Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has partnered with Rep. Katie Porter, R-Calif., on ethics legislation tailored to the Biden family’s case, which would require more public disclosure.
It would require presidents and vice presidents to disclose payments, money transfers and gifts received from foreign sources by them or their immediate family members; loans or loan repayments with immediate family members; when family members accompany them on the trip; and their tax returns.
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have introduced a competing ethics bill tailored to Trump’s business that would increase penalties for presidents who abuse the Constitution’s emoluments clause. .
The bill would bar the president and other federal officials from accepting payments from foreign governments while in office and for two years after leaving office without congressional approval. It also creates civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized receipt of foreign payments.
c. 2024 The New York Times Company
