House GOP alleges Biden offenses, uncertain on impeachment vote

House Republicans released a 291-page report on Monday, accusing Democratic President Joe Biden of committing impeachable offenses through foreign business dealings beginning in 2014.

The report, produced by three House committees, claims Biden profited from an influence-peddling scheme involving his family, but it remains unclear whether Republicans will push for an impeachment vote ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has not indicated if he will schedule a vote. Even if passed by the Republican-controlled House, Biden’s removal from office is unlikely due to the Democratic majority in the Senate.

Biden, who withdrew from his reelection bid last month, is set to leave office when his successor is sworn in on Jan. 20.

The White House has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated, and Democrats have criticized it as retribution for former President Donald Trump’s previous impeachments.

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Despite the allegations, the inquiry has faced criticism from both parties for lacking concrete evidence against Biden.

“The committees present this information to the House of Representatives for its evaluation and consideration of appropriate next steps,” the report said.

It was not clear if Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson would schedule a vote to impeach Biden in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 election, in which Republican Donald Trump is locked in a tight battle with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Even if the Republican-controlled House were to pass such a measure, it would be unlikely to remove Biden from office, given that he would need to be convicted by a Senate controlled 51-49 by his own Democratic Party.

Biden, who withdrew his own reelection bid last month, is due to leave office when his successor is sworn in on Jan. 20.

Democrats have disparaged the effort as retribution for Trump, who was impeached twice by a Democratic-controlled House and acquitted each time by the Senate. The first impeachment alleged that Trump pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help smear Biden in return for U.S. aid.

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The House investigators say that Biden used his influence to benefit the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, with partners from Ukraine, China, Russia and other countries.

Hunter Biden has been convicted on charges that he lied about his illegal drug use to buy a gun and is awaiting trial on charges of tax evasion, including an allegation that he accepted payments from a Romanian businessman who sought to influence U.S. government agencies in connection with a criminal probe in Romania.

The impeachment inquiry, which lawmakers formally authorized last December and has been carried out by the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways & Means Committees, has been criticized by members of both parties for failing to produce hard evidence of wrongdoing by Biden.