On September 12, 2023, Kevin McCarthy, then-speaker of the United States House of Representatives, announced an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
A specific allegation that Joe sought to protect Hunter from a corruption investigation by arranging to have the Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin fired has been repeatedly shown to be false.
The first of these efforts occurred when articles of impeachment citing the Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory were filed by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene one day after Biden's inauguration.
[31] In June 2023, the House of Representatives voted to begin an investigation into Biden's removal and referred two impeachment articles written by Lauren Boebert to committee.
Leading up to the inquiry, Trump met with House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik and Greene, discussing impeaching Biden both times.
[32] In an early September interview with Breitbart News, Kevin McCarthy promised that he would only open an impeachment inquiry into Biden with a full house vote.
[22] When announcing the inquiry, McCarthy said that earlier findings of House investigations "paint a picture of corruption" involving Biden and his relatives, particularly regarding the business dealings of Hunter.
"[20] According to McCarthy, the impeachment inquiry would give House Republicans "the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the American public".
Lawmakers voted along party lines to back a resolution that Republicans say will give them more power to gather evidence and enforce legal demands.
[43] Comer said that House Oversight investigators would seek additional emails dating back to the Obama administration and witness testimony from people alleging misconduct by the Biden family.
[43] The Oversight Committee's ranking member, Jamie Raskin, who was lead manager during Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, has referred to the GOP investigation as a "complete and total bust.
"[46] The Comer committee issued a subpoena for Hunter's bank records on September 25, finding he received two wire transfers from Chinese nationals in summer 2019 that listed his father's Delaware home as the beneficiary address.
"[47] Smith held a press conference on September 27 to discuss allegations of Biden influence peddling and a two-tiered justice system.
Smith also discussed an email from a Weiss deputy telling investigators to remove all references to Joe Biden as "political figure one" from a search warrant for Hunter.
When a reporter mentioned the email was sent in August 2020, when Trump was president, Smith suggested that was inconsequential to the underlying allegation of a two-tiered justice system.
Pat Fallon asserted "Hunter admitted that he talked to his dad about business, specifically Burisma," referencing a 2019 New Yorker interview.
[56] However, in his October 27 Fox News interview, Johnson took a different tone on his current judgement of guilt, claiming, "we've not predetermined the outcome of this.
"[54] Comer discussed the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden in late October 2023, stating that "because we have so many documents, and we can bring these people in for [private] depositions or [public] committee hearings, whichever they choose".
[58] The Washington Post reported that during a November 7 luncheon with the Republican Governance Group, Speaker Johnson indicated there was insufficient evidence to initiate formal impeachment proceedings.
Hunter and his legal team previously made two separate appearances at the U.S. Capitol since the subpoena was first issued in November 2023, requesting that the deposition take place in a public setting.
This resolution accused Joe Biden of an "abuse of power" by engaging in a quid pro quo when he threatened to withhold weapons shipments to Israel in order to get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not launch an attack on the Gaza city of Rafah.
[69] The Justice Department replied that the form "establish[es] little beyond the fact that a confidential human source provided information and the FBI recorded it", warned them that the allegation might not be true and that many interviewees provide unreliable information to the FBI, and reminded them that it is normal "for law enforcement agencies to decline to confirm or deny" potential evidence in ongoing investigations.
[71] In a February 20 court filing, prosecutors said Smirnov had admitted that Russian intelligence officials had passed a story about Hunter Biden to him.
A number, including House members Ken Buck, David Joyce, Don Bacon, and Senator Shelley Capito, commented that they had not seen evidence to warrant an impeachment inquiry.
[92] House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed to defend Biden "until the very end" and compared the impeachment inquiry to a kangaroo court.
[93] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized McCarthy for bowing to conservative pressure and labeled the impeachment inquiry as a witch hunt.
[94][95] Both Bowman and Bobbitt expressed concern that the inquiry will cheapen the concept of impeachment, thereby damaging the federal government's checks and balances.
It came amid tenuous negotiations McCarthy was having with his caucus ahead of the fiscal year deadline to pass appropriations bills and avert a government shutdown.
[106] The opinion remains binding on the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, as all are part of the executive branch.
[39] The opinion finds that without a floor vote, subpoenas issued by House committees would lack the weight normally granted when pertaining to an impeachment inquiry.