House announces witnesses for launch of Biden impeachment probe

A forensic accountant, a constitutional scholar and a former Justice Department tax supervisor will be the first witnesses Thursday when the House launches the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. 

Lawmakers on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee say the opening hearing will provide the basis for the impeachment probe, which centers on whether Mr. Biden as vice president in the Obama administration engaged in influence peddling to help his son and other family members benefit from lucrative foreign business deals.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said his panel along with the House Judiciary Committee and House Way and Means Committee have “uncovered an overwhelming amount of evidence showing President Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.”

Eileen O’Connor, who formerly supervised tax cases for the Justice Department, forensic accountant Bruce Dubinsky, and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley are the listed witnesses. 

Lawmakers plan to provide the details of bank accounts and other financial records as well as witness testimony and texts and emails to show Mr. Biden acted corruptly.

Mr. Biden has denied any wrongdoing or any knowledge of or involvement in his son’s business deals.

The GOP-led inquiry has no support from Democrats, who say the entire exercise is political and lacks any evidence tying Mr. Biden to his son’s business deals.

It will be the third presidential impeachment inquiry in four years.

House Democrats impeached President Trump in December 2019 for trying to persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate corruption involving Mr. Biden, then a presidential candidate.

Mr. Trump was impeached a second time, in January 2021, on charges that he incited the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican, announced the impeachment probe of Mr. Biden on Sept. 12, following a months-long effort by House Republicans to obtain financial records and witness testimony from Hunter Biden’s former business associates and other witnesses. The impeachment inquiry also followed testimony from IRS whistleblowers who say the Justice Department stymied their efforts to pursue evidence in a tax fraud probe of Hunter Biden that may have exposed corruption involving his father.

Republicans say they’ve traced more than $20 million in profits from foreign deals that ended up in the bank accounts of Hunter Biden’s associates and other Biden family members, including the president’s granddaughter.

Devon Archer, an ex-business associate, testified in a closed-door House deposition in July that Hunter Biden and his associates sold the Biden “brand” to secure deals, and that the “brand” was Joe Biden, who often phoned in to or stopped by his son’s business meetings. 

“Based on the evidence, Congress has a duty to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden’s corruption. Americans demand and deserve answers, transparency, and accountability for this abuse of public office,” Mr. Comer said “This week, the House Oversight Committee will present evidence uncovered to date and hear from legal and financial experts about crimes the Bidens may have committed as they brought in millions at the expense of U.S. interests.”