US house of reps approves Biden impeachment inquiry
The United States house of representatives has authorised an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
The vote was 221-212 along party lines.
Three Republican-led house committees allege bribery and corruption during Biden’s tenure as vice-president under Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017.
After months of pressure from Republicans in Congress, Kevin McCarthy, then speaker of the house, said in September that an inquiry would be opened.
McCarthy said the inquiry would focus on “allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption” by the president.
Biden, who is running for a second term, has been accused of “weaponising” the justice department against political opponents to protect Hunter, his son.
Biden’s critics also say Hunter’s dealings and repeated run-ins with the law indicate a pattern of corruption.
In June, Hunter pleaded guilty to two tax crimes and struck a deal with federal prosecutors regarding a separate felony gun charge while he was a drug user.
On Wednesday, the Republican chairperson behind the impeachment inquiry into Biden said “contempt of Congress proceedings” would be initiated against the president’s son for not participating in his closed-door deposition after he demanded to testify publicly.
Hours later, the lower chamber of Congress, which Republicans control by a slim eight-seat margin, approved the inquiry into Biden by a vote of 221 to 212.
Voting to authorise an inquiry is not the same as voting for impeachment, but it advances the likelihood that the house will eventually seek to impeach Biden.
Speaking on the development, the president called the proceedings a misplacement of priorities and a baseless political stunt.
“The American people need their leaders in Congress to take action on important priorities for the nation and world,” he said in a statement following the vote.
“Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts.”
So far, there has been no evidence to prove the allegations against Biden.
But as the 81-year-old gears up for re-election, he is likely to battle Donald Trump, his predecessor and a twice-impeached former president.
Trump, 77, who is also the presumed Republican frontrunner, has urged his allies to move quickly to impeach his opponent.
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