House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) has formally invited President Joe Biden to testify before House impeachment investigators.
“The first—asserted by you—is that you did not engage in influence peddling in exchange for payments to your family. The second—asserted by witnesses and a body of evidence I will briefly review below—is that you were indeed involved in these pay-for-influence schemes and that you have been repeatedly untruthful regarding a matter relevant to national security and your own fitness to serve as President of the United States,” the congressman wrote.
“The purpose of this letter is not to recount every material inconsistency said by you or your defenders or to detail every piece of evidence accumulated by the Committee. Instead, the letter summarizes the Committee’s concerns and describes why it is now necessary for you to provide testimony to the Committee in furtherance of the impeachment inquiry—a phase of the investigation I have sought in earnest and good faith to avoid,” he continued.
Mr. Comer went on to detail some of the probe’s findings contradicting President Biden’s claims of having no involvement in his family members’ business schemes. Those findings include various interactions and meetings with the foreign business partners of his son Hunter Biden and the president’s brother James Biden. The chairman also cited financial transactions that appeared to trace the source of funds in the president’s personal bank accounts back to foreign entities, including Chinese companies.
“As the foregoing demonstrates, the Committee has compiled evidence—bank records, contemporaneous electronic communications, and witness testimony—showing your awareness, acquiescence, and participation in self-enrichment schemes of your family members,” Mr. Comer wrote.
“As Chairman of the Committee, in addition to requesting that you answer the questions posed in this letter, I invite you to participate in a public hearing at which you will be afforded the opportunity to explain, under oath, your involvement with your family’s sources of income and the means it has used to generate it.”
The congressman proposed April 16 as the date for a hearing, though he said that his committee was open to accommodating the president’s schedule.
Accountability
Although the impeachment inquiry was officially announced in September 2023, Mr. Comer launched his Biden family investigation in November 2022, when it became clear that the GOP would take control of the House.Throughout the course of their probe, investigators have heard from dozens of witnesses, including ex-business associates of the president’s son. Among those former associates was Tony Bobulinski, whose recent testimony at a March 20 impeachment hearing contradicted President Biden’s claims that he had no role in his family’s businesses.
“From my direct personal experience and what I’ve subsequently come to learn, it is clear to me that Joe Biden was the brand being sold by the Biden family,” Mr. Bobulinski testified at the hearing.
In a post-hearing interview with Newsmax, Mr. Comer said no one could deny that investigators had shown that the Biden family was engaged in an influence-peddling scheme. The only point of contention, he said, was whether the president was aware of it. And the only way to figure that out is to ask him.
“We believe Joe Biden knew darn well what was going on all along,” Mr. Comer said. “We’re going to give Joe Biden an opportunity to defend himself. If he chooses not to, then we’re going to proceed forward.”
As for whether the evidence supports impeachment, the congressman said he would vote to impeach President Biden “right now” but wondered if that was the best course of action for investigators to take.
“What does real accountability look like?” he asked. “Does it look like impeaching Joe Biden in the House and then the Senate tabling it like they’re going to do with the Merrick Garland impeachment? Or does it mean providing real criminal referrals to the Department of Justice? I think the latter.”
