House Republicans on Thursday invited President Joe Biden to testify before Congress as part of their impeachment inquiry into him and his family’s business dealings.
Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the Democratic president, inviting him to sit for a public hearing to “explain, under oath,” what involvement he had in the Biden family businesses .
“In light of the yawning gap between your public statements and the evidence gathered by the committee, as well as the White House’s obstruction, it is in the best interests of the American people that you respond directly to questions from Members of Congress, and I hereby invite you to do so,” the Kentucky Republican wrote.
Although it is highly unlikely that Biden would agree to appear before lawmakers in such a setting, Comer pointed to previous examples of presidents testifying before Congress.
“As you know, presidents before you have testified before congressional committees, including Chairman Ford’s testimony before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice of the House Judiciary Committee in 1974,” Comer wrote .
The invitation comes as the months-long investigation into Biden draws to a close as Republicans face the harsh reality that they lack the political appetite within the conference to move forward with a real impeachment. Still, leaders of the effort, including Comer, face growing political pressure to get something done after months of investigative work on the Biden family and its international business dealings.
The White House has repeatedly called the investigation baseless, calling on Republicans to “move on” and focus on the “real problems” Americans want to solve.
“This is a sad affair at the end of a deadlocked impeachment proceeding,” spokesman Ian Sams said in a social media post last week. “Stop it, buddy.”
The commission claimed the Bidens were trading on the last name, an alleged influence-peddling scheme in which Republicans attempt to link a handful of phone calls or dinner meetings between Joe Biden, when he was vice president or when he was not in office, and his son Hunter Biden and Hunter’s business associates.
But despite devoting countless resources over the past year, interviewing dozens of witnesses, including Hunter and the president’s brother, James, Republicans have yet to produce a single shred of evidence that Joe Biden was directly involved in or benefited from his family’s businesses while in public office.
Democrats remained united against the investigation, with Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat in charge of oversight, calling on his Republican counterpart to end the investigation in the absence of any credible evidence.
“The GOP impeachment inquiry has been a circus,” Oversight Democrats wrote on the social media platform X. “It’s time to fold the tent.”
Seeking the president’s testimony could ultimately be the final act of the investigation.
Late last year, Republicans leading the investigation had privately discussed holding a vote on the articles of impeachment in the new year, but growing criticism within their party forced a change of strategy. Now, Comer is considering possible criminal referrals of the family to the Justice Department, a move that will be largely symbolic and unlikely to be adopted by the department.
