WASHINGTON (AP) – The wording of a resolution authorizing an impeachment investigation for President Joe Biden was revealed by House Republicans on Thursday.
Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-ND, presented the resolution, which would legitimize the ongoing impeachment investigation spearheaded by three GOP-led House committees: Judiciary, Oversight, and Ways and Means. It would assist the committees in enforcing subpoenas and allow the committee chairs to select open hearings in their investigation into the Biden family.
Several House leaders have stated that the resolution will be voted on next week. It is due to be heard by the House Rules Committee on Tuesday morning, which means it will most likely be voted on Wednesday, on the eve of the chamber's final day in session this year.
The Biden administration has frequently called House Republicans' impeachment investigation "illegitimate." A White House spokeswoman, Ian Sams, termed the resolution a "baseless stunt" that was "not rooted in facts or reality, but in the unscrupulous determination of radical House Republicans to exploit their position to discredit President Biden."
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., believes Republicans have the votes to pass the resolution. He claimed this week that the White House has been "stonewalling" Republicans' impeachment investigation, so a vote on the authorization resolution has become "a necessary constitutional step."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, indicated Thursday that Republicans will have the votes to formally initiate the investigation next week.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told NBC News that he believes he is the only Republican who will vote against authorizing the impeachment investigation; he hasn't heard from any colleagues who plan to join him.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who has accused the Biden family of engaging in shady business practices, recently stated that GOP support for moving forward with the impeachment inquiry was solidified during the Thanksgiving break, when caucus members "heard from people at Walmart, people on Main Street who were like, 'Find out the truth about Joe Biden's knowledge and involvement in his family's shady business.'"
The three committees were directed by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in September to acquire bank records and other papers from the president and his son Hunter Biden.
The Oversight Committee has stated that it has financial papers proving that members of the Biden family built over 20 shell corporations, the majority of which were founded during Joe Biden's stint as vice president, in order to conceal payments from foreign foes.
Last month, House Republicans issued subpoenas focusing on the Biden family's business dealings. They wanted depositions from Hunter Biden, the president's brother, and Rob Walker, a Biden family associate. Those subpoenas come a day after the special counsel leading a probe into Hunter Biden testified behind closed doors before the Judiciary Committee.
The White House lawyer, Richard Sauber, called the subpoenas "unjustified," saying in a letter that the "requests were sent despite the fact that, after a year of investigating, voluminous records.. hundreds of witnesses' evidence has disproved your unfounded charges about the President."
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