A request by Republicans for documents related to the family of President Joe Biden’s “international business schemes,” which includes Hunter Biden’s possible business dealings which may be affecting U.S. foreign policy, was quickly dismissed by Democrats in the House.
The House Oversight and Reform Committee considered an inquiry resolution that asked President Biden to deliver all documents in his possession related to the business dealings of Biden family members in addition to other Biden associates, family members, and others involved with a range of Biden-involved companies.
Any resolutions of inquiry are considered privileged and must be considered in committee. However, the committee voted against the resolution after a debate lasting two hours, during which Republicans said Hunter Biden’s business dealings show that in the best light, he was able to use his father’s name and position to earn millions, and in the worst light could have had an inappropriate influence on his father, President Joe Biden’s, foreign policy.
“Oversight Republicans’ ongoing investigation has revealed the Biden family has peddled access to the highest levels of government to enrich themselves, and unfortunately, often to the detriment of U.S. interests,” top Republican on the committee, Representative James Comer of Kentucky, said.
“It is time for President Biden to answer some questions about his participation in his family’s business schemes with some of our most significant adversaries for years, including the Chinese Communist Party,” continued Comer.
Others noted that information in the younger Biden’s laptop showed he made money in China and Ukraine, raising questions about how his son’s business deals may have shaped the president’s foreign policy. However, President Biden has consistently said he knows nothing about Hunter Biden’s business dealings, a claim Republicans dismissed.
“Frankly, it’s a lie,” said GOP Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, who reports claiming the younger Biden assisted a Chinese company in purchasing a Congolese cobalt mine, noting the cobalt is essential to producing electric vehicle batteries.
“So do you mean to tell me that Joe Biden…had no idea that his son was engaged in the sale of a cobalt mine to a Chinese company at the same time when the centerpiece of Joe Biden’s energy policy is electric cars in the United States?” asked Donalds. “Come on, folks. That is just crazy.”
Bidens a “criminal political family”
Labeling the Biden family a “criminal political family,” Republican Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana said the first family’s story reads like fiction. “Who would not want to read about the exploits of the grand, criminal political family, the Bidens?” asked Higgins. “Who would be surprised that from the loins of the big guy, Joe Biden, a fresh Democrat would spring, Hunter Biden. We’re absolutely going to look into this stuff; we’re going to reveal it for the American people.”
Democrats have accused Republicans of demanding documents to politically weaken the Democrats’ 2024 election position and distract from critical Democratic focus issues, including abortion rights and climate change.
“This is a nakedly partisan effort,” top Democrat on the committee, Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York, said. Maloney said the resolution targets Hunter Biden, President Biden’s brother James, his sister-in-law Sara Jones Biden and other individuals but noted that “None of these people have a role in the Biden administration.”
Washington, D.C. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, accused Republicans of launching a “smear campaign” against the Biden family. At the same time, Democrat Representative Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts said President Joe Biden was being unfairly targeted.
Lynch insisted, “This president is a good and decent man. He is an honorable man. And your efforts to dirty him up and dust him up are reprehensible.”
