House set to vote on Biden impeachment inquiry

The US House of Representatives is poised to vote on Wednesday to formalize its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his family’s finances – in particular the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden. If they vote to proceed as expected, formal articles of impeachment against Biden for bribery, abuse of power, and obstruction are likely to follow.

So far, it looks like the House GOP has the votes, with many of the Republicans who were skeptical six months ago – most from Biden-won districts – coming on board. While they are still concerned about potential backlash in their districts, the desire to force subpoenas and White House cooperation is changing their minds.

The pro-inquiry ranks got a boost on Friday when Hunter Biden was charged by a federal court for allegedly failing to pay millions in income taxes. The House has subpoenaed Biden to testify in a closed-door hearing on Wednesday. Biden agreed on the condition that the hearing be public, citing concerns that his statements would be taken out of context. The House refused, setting up the potential for a legal showdown if Biden fails to appear.

While there has not yet been any hard evidence of wrongdoing by the president himself, Republicans frequently point to a 2018 video, where President Biden speaks about withholding a loan until guarantee until a prominent Ukrainian official – with links to a Ukrainian gas company that Hunter is on the board of – was fired. Republicans need to build a bridge between Hunter Biden’s vices and their accusations that his father committed high crimes and misdemeanors. The GOP points to potential links between If they fail to do so, Republicans risk the inquiry appearing to be a form of revenge for the impeachments of Donald Trump, which could jeopardize Republicans in swing districts.