House tees up vote to formalize Biden impeachment inquiry tonight

The House of Representatives is taking a vote to formalize its impeachment inquiry of President Biden on Wednesday evening, a move Republicans argue will force the White House into complying with its investigation.

The GOP-led committees on Oversight, Ways & Means and the Judiciary have been investigating Biden over accusations he had leveraged his office of vice president in the Obama administration to enrich his family through foreign businesses. 

It’s been heavily centered on the president’s brother James Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who is under federal investigation for tax and firearm-related charges. Hunter Biden is also scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door deposition on Wednesday, though it’s unclear if he will show up.

The impeachment inquiry vote is scheduled to occur sometime in the 5 p.m. hour.

‘The impeachment inquiry is necessary now…because we’ve come to this impasse, we’re following the facts. Where they lead is hitting a stone wall because the White House is impeding that investigation,’ Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said at a press conference on Tuesday. 

‘We’re not going to prejudge the outcome of this. We can’t because, again, it’s not a political calculation. We’re following the law and we are the rule of law team. And I’m going to hold to that as my commitment.’

But Democrats have accused the House GOP majority of playing politics with impeachment. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, accused Republicans of moving forward with no proof of wrongdoing on Wednesday morning before the vote.

‘A mountain of evidence and deluge of independent reporting, including from numerous conservative outlets, have discredited every single allegation leveled by Republicans against President Biden in their painstaking and fruitless inquiry—from bogus smears about Ukraine to comical distortions about intrafamily auto payments to desperate and self-debunking cries of obstruction, all proven to be distortions, concoctions, and outright lies,’ Raskin said.