The House Oversight and Accountability Committee, chaired by Republican James Comer, plans to hold the hearing to explore constitutional and legal issues, a spokesman for the panel said Tuesday. Two other House committees are also involved in the investigation.
McCarthy announced the investigation into Biden, who will seek re-election next year, after facing pressure from far-right legislators of his party furious that Democrats, when they controlled the House, impeached the Republican president donald trump in 2019 and 2021. Trump was acquitted both times by the Senate.
Republicans claim that Biden profited from his son Hunter’s businesses while he was vice president between 2009 and 2017, but they have not presented any concrete evidence of misconduct. Biden denies wrongdoing.
White House spokesman Ian Sams on Tuesday accused Republicans of trying to “distract attention from their own chaotic inability to govern” by “staging a political stunt.”
The oversight panel’s statement about the hearing referred to Biden’s “involvement in corruption and abuse of public office.” The panel intends to subpoena the personal and business banking records of Hunter Biden and James Biden, the president’s brother, according to the statement.
The Constitution establishes an impeachment process under which Congress can remove a president. The House of Representatives can approve formal charges – articles of impeachment – by a simple majority.
The Senate then holds a trial and can remove a president with a two-thirds majority vote. Democrats control the Senate, so conviction and impeachment are highly unlikely.
