The Republican-led House committee investigating whether to impeach President Joe Biden released its long-awaited report on its findings Monday morning, concluding that Biden committed impeachable conduct but delaying a decision by the full House on whether to proceed with formal impeachment.
The nearly 300-page report summarizes investigations conducted by the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees over the past year and a half, nearly all of which have been made public.
Reports say Biden made his fortune through the family business and concealed his mishandling of classified information in his office, which is the subject of an investigation by special counsel Robert Hur. Decline to press charges This year.
Additionally, the committee said the Justice Department mishandled its investigation into son Hunter Biden’s tax affairs and that the White House withheld key documents and witnesses from the impeachment inquiry.
“The totality of the corruption uncovered by the committee is shocking. President Joe Biden conspired to engage in influence peddling and fraud. In doing so, he abused the power of his office and deceived the United States by repeatedly falsely claiming that he abused his power. enriched his family,” the report said.
The White House has not yet had an opportunity to comment for this article.
The report itself provides detailed information about Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden, and their business associates’ interactions with and payments to foreign companies at the end of their term as vice president and while they were private citizens.
Investigators estimated the total at $27 million, based on bank records they received. But investigators found no evidence that Biden personally received money from these companies or participated in foreign business transactions, except that Hunter Biden called him on speakerphone to say hello or met in the presence of foreign business partners. out of their time.
One of the examples cited by the committee was the case of Russian businesswoman Yelena Baturina, wife of former Moscow mayor Yury Luzkhkov, who in 2014 passed a Companies with ties to Hunter Biden invested $3.5 million with Hunter Biden’s business partner Devon Archer. , Baturina attended the dinner, and then-Vice President Joe Biden also stopped by to finalize the investment. Archer described the conversation in an interview with the Board of Supervisors last year as “about the world, I guess, and the weather, and then everybody — everybody left.”
Later this year, when Jason Galanis, another business associate of Hunter Biden’s, sought further investment from Baturina to benefit Hunter Biden through an equity agreement, Galanis said, Hunter Biden called his father and put him on speaker phone. He told the Oversight and Judiciary Committees that the brief call included some “pleasure, greetings and a safe trip,” before Joe Biden said, “You be nice to my kids,” before concluding the conversation. Although the committee provided an email from Galanis indicating that Baturina had committed to additional investment, it does not indicate that it ever happened.
Elsewhere in the report, the committee provided numerous examples of financial dealings between Hunter Biden and Chinese companies, but did not provide direct links to Joe Biden’s time as vice president or his time there. Evidence of specific policies changed or encouraged. They also cited an example from 2017, when Sarah Biden, the wife of the president’s brother James, signed a $40,000 check from a Biden account designated as “loan repayment,” with the money going through Hunter initiated various transfers into her account.
The committee also noted that Hunter Biden’s business associates described future roles in certain business ventures after the end of Joe Biden’s term as vice president. In testimony before the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, Hunter Biden denied his father’s involvement or attributed any mention of his father to his drug and alcohol abuse at the time.
In June, the chairs of three impeachment committees sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department recommending that Hunter and James Biden be charged with making false statements to Congress.
Other parts of the report deal with the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden’s unpaid taxes in 2017 and 2018, which began during the Trump administration in 2018 and continued during the Biden administration under special counsel David continues under the supervision of David Weiss. Two IRS employees came forward as whistleblowers, accusing the Justice Department of deliberately delaying the investigation. Hunter Biden had reached a plea deal on federal gun charges, but the deal failed in court last year. later convicted The charges were heard in a jury trial this year. He is awaiting trial for failing to pay taxes later this year.
The report makes no mention of the role of possible Russian spy Alexander Smirnov Who provided false information Regarding Hunter and Joe Biden’s reports to the FBI. Smirnov also Charged with false reporting The case regarding President Weiss’ son is scheduled to go to trial in December.
“While the committee’s fact-finding investigation remains ongoing amid obstruction by President Biden, the evidence uncovered to date in the impeachment inquiry constitutes impeachable conduct. The committee is submitting this information to the House of Representatives for its evaluation and consideration Appropriate next steps,” the report concluded.
The impeachment inquiry is Announced in September It was proposed by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and formally approved by the House on a party-line vote in December.
It’s unclear whether Republican leadership has enough votes to impeach Biden, which would almost certainly fall short of the two-thirds Senate standard for conviction in any case. With a 51-49 advantage, Senate Democrats can vote to dismiss the impeachment inquiry with a simple majority.
