The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday asked six members of US President Joe Biden\u2019s family and two business associates to testify in the impeachment investigation, citing \u201cinfluence peddling schemes\u201d trading on the family name.
Committee chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, issued subpoenas to Biden\u2019s son Hunter and brother James, as well as Rob Walker, one of Hunter Biden\u2019s business associates. Another associate, Tony Bobulinski, was asked to appear for a transcribed interview.
The committee also wants to hear from James Biden\u2019s wife Sara, Hunter\u2019s wife Melissa, Hallie Biden \u2013 Hunter\u2019s former lover and widow of his brother Beau \u2013 and Hallie\u2019s sister Elizabeth Secundy.
\u201cThe House Oversight Committee has followed the money and built a record of evidence revealing how Joe Biden knew, was involved, and benefited from his family\u2019s influence peddling schemes,\u201d Comer said on Wednesday. \u201cUnlike the many lies President Biden told the American people about his family\u2019s business schemes, bank records don\u2019t lie. These records reveal how the Bidens sold Joe Biden around to the world [sic] to benefit the Biden family, including Joe Biden himself, to the detriment of US interests.\u201d
Earlier this month, the committee revealed the money trail behind a $40,000 check written to Joe by James and Sara Biden, which led to Hunter and a Chinese company he allegedly \u201cextorted\u201d in his father\u2019s name.
The committee has records that the Bidens set up \u201cover 20 shell companies\u201d while Joe Biden was Barack Obama\u2019s vice president (2009-2017) in \u201ca concerted effort to hide payments from foreign adversaries,\u201d and received over $24 million from foreign nationals \u2013 including from China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Kazakhstan \u2013 over the course of five years, Comer said.
\u201cSubpoenaing key members of the Biden family influence peddling operation is the next logical step in this investigation,\u201d said Ways and Means Committee chair Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican. \u201cNo one should be shielded from legal scrutiny based on their last name.\u201d
Joe Biden has said that he\u2019d never been involved in Hunter\u2019s business dealings or benefited from them personally, and the White House insists there was never any wrongdoing. However, the Republican-led committee said it had evidence that Biden met with Hunter\u2019s associates \u2013 including \u201ca Ukrainian executive being investigated for corruption\u201d \u2013 many times.
\u201cPresident Biden and his administration have continually changed their stories throughout this inquiry,\u201d House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said on Wednesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said last week that the Republicans were \u201ccoming to a point of decision\u201d on impeachment very soon, but intended to follow due process, unlike the Democrats, who impeached former president Donald Trump twice in proceedings he called a \u201csham.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n