Republicans in the US House of Representatives are pushing ahead with investigations into possible impeachment proceedings against US President Joe Biden. The chamber voted with a majority of Republicans on Wednesday to continue with the investigation and “formalize” it. It is a technical step that Republicans hope will give them more legal leverage in their investigations. This does not open impeachment proceedings against the president.
Some Republicans accuse Biden, a Democrat, of abusing his public office for his family’s financial gain. They suspect the Biden family of improperly benefiting from his decisions during his time as vice president from 2009 to 2017. The focus is on the business of his son Hunter Biden. No evidence of misconduct has yet been presented. The presidential office has rejected all allegations and said the proceedings were politically motivated. In a statement released by the US Presidential Office, Biden called the investigation a “baseless political move.” House Republicans focused on attacking him “with lies.”
The dispute takes place against the backdrop of the election campaign. At the beginning of November, in addition to the president, a third of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives will be re-elected. If there is actually an impeachment trial, it will probably be hopeless because of the majority of Biden’s Democrats in the second chamber of Congress, the Senate.