House of Representatives votes to press ahead with impeachment investigation against President Biden - as Hunter Biden hits out at 'absurd' claims about his father
Hunter Biden also hit out at聽Republican investigators looking into his business dealings, insisting he would only testify before a congressional committee in public.
Thursday 14 December 2023 04:23, UK
The US House of Representatives has voted to press ahead with an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
Allegations against Joe Biden centre on his business dealings with his son, Hunter Biden.
Every Republican in the House voted in favour of the process - meaning it passed with a slim majority of nine.
Impeachment is a form of trial in the Senate after which the president could be removed from office.
After almost a year of investigation, no evidence has emerged that Joe Biden has acted corruptly or accepted bribes.
The president accused House Republicans of "attacking [him] with lies.
"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," he added.
Ahead of the vote, Hunter Biden told reporters outside the US Capitol: "My father was not financially involved in my business.
"During my battle with addiction, my parents were there for me.
"They literally saved my life, helped me in ways that I will never be able to repay. And of course, they would never expect me to. And in the depths of my addiction, I was extremely irresponsible with my finances.
"But to suggest that is grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond the absurd. It's shameless."
He also hit out at a different Republican investigation looking into his business dealings, saying that he had been asked to testify in private.
Analysis: A 'baseless political stunt' but it will be the talk of the campaign trail
Once, this story would have been political thunder. Today, impeachment carries the sound of political knockabout.
When every president gets impeached, it鈥檚 not so much a matter of high crimes and misdemeanours as a matter of time.
There鈥檚 no doubt the allegations are serious - Joe Biden鈥檚 Republican accusers talk of corruption, of a serving president using the power of office to line his pockets and compromising national security in the process.
Serious allegations, and yet, they lack serious evidence. Republican-led committees have spent months looking into the links between the president, his son and foreign business deals brokered. In that time, they have come up with no direct evidence that links Biden Snr to impropriety.
Their argument is that formalising an impeachment inquiry strengthens their hand through the power of subpoena - that they can, more easily, gain access to witnesses and evidence.
Furious Democrats talk of a fishing expedition. In a likely challenge against the twice-impeached Donald Trump, they view the Biden inquiry as a Republican move to neutralise impeachment as a campaign handicap.
In a statement, the president himself called it a 鈥渂aseless political stunt鈥�.
He would say that. He would also know that鈥檚 not wholly the point.
The political point is that an inquiry will orientate a voting public towards claims of scandal and abuse of office. Whatever the truth, it will be the talk of the campaign trail as America enters an election year.
Read more on Hunter Biden:
Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to three firearm charges
Republicans hold first hearing in impeachment inquiry
The Democratic president's son claimed his testimony could be manipulated.
James Comer of Kentucky (Republican), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has said members expect "full cooperation" with demands.
Hunter Biden said: "What are they afraid of? I'm here, I'm ready."
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Last week, Hunter Biden was criminally charged for tax-related offences in California, with a federal investigation into his financial conduct under way.
The president's son has been indicted on nine counts - three felonies and six misdemeanours - by special counsel David Weiss, who is investigating his business dealings for the Department of Justice.
"There is no fairness or decency in what these Republicans are doing," he said on Wednesday.
"They have lied over and over about every aspect of my personal and professional life.
"So much so that lies have become the false facts believed by too many people.
"No matter how many times it is debunked, they continue to insist that my father's support of Ukraine against Russia is the result of a non-existent bribe."