First Biden impeachment inquiry sees sparks fly between GOP, Dems

Chairman James Comer concluded his remarks in the hearing by outling the next steps in the investigation, and summarizing the day's marathon hearing.

"The bottom line is that the committee has shown the Bidens alone brought in over $15 million in their foreign influence peddling, over $24 million if you account for their associate's earnings from the schemes."

"We have established in the first phase of this investigation where this money has come from: Ukraine, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, it didn't come from selling anything legitimate. It largely went unreported to the IRS. It was funneled through shell companies and third parties to hide the Biden's fingerprints," he said.

"This deserves investigation. This deserves accountability. The American people expect this committee to investigate public corruption."

He then outlines the next steps the committee will take after the evidence today was presented.

"Now we know much of the money goes -- Hunter Biden, Haley Biden, James Biden, Sarah Biden, other Biden family members and their business entities. What we need to understand is where it goes next. That is the question this committee to answer. And the evidence supports that next step," he said.

Specifically, he said he will be subpoenaing the bank records of Hunter Biden, James Biden and their affiliated companies.

Democrats vehemently decried the first House Oversight Committee’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Thursday as a "waste of time" and "illegitimate" as Congress simultaneously races against the clock to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) deal and prevent a looming government shutdown before Saturday’s deadline.

"Republican extremism is rearing its ugly head," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday morning. "They are wasting time and taxpayer dollars on an illegitimate Impeachment Inquiry when we're about 48 hours away or so from an extreme MAGA, republican government shutdown — and this is what they're focused on, an illegitimate impeachment inquiry as opposed to doing the business of the American people."

Other Democrats followed suit on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding their own criticisms of the hearing."

The government shuts down in TWO DAYS, and House Republicans are… wasting time today holding a sham impeachment hearing??? Stop playing political games. Do your jobs. Fund the government," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., posted to X. The congresswoman previously voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in 2021. 

California state Democrat and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said on X: "We are going to hit back on every lie and conspiracy theory." 

"We are ready to push back on a sham impeachment inquiry," Garcia posted Wednesday evening.

Texas Democratic Rep. Greg Casar called the impeachment hearing "baseless."

"My job is to defend the truth, while extremist Republicans try to defend Trump through their fact-free inquiry against President Biden," Casar posted to X.

A House Democrat was rebuffed in his line of questioning when he quizzed a legal witness about whether an impeachment requires a clear criminal action -- before he quickly moved on.

Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-NY, asked Professor Jonathan Turley, who was a witness invited by Republicans, if he had said during the 2019 impeachment of former President Donald Trump that "impeachment requires a clear criminal act."

Turley, however, said that was not the testimony he gave.

"No, in fact in the Trump impeachment I said repeatedly you can impeach someone for non-criminal conduct, what I said then and I'm saying now is that i strongly encourage you to look at criminal activity..."

"Ok well that testimony is there," he interrupted.

Turley then asked if he could finish his point.

"No you can't, because I have 10 seconds left."

Goldman asked if he would acknowledge that there must be an "official act connected to some sort of benefit." But Turley said it was not a yes or no question, and Goldman's time had then expired.

Texas Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett quipped that she and the others at the hearing would be "drunk by now" if they were playing a "drinking game" about how many times the GOP used the word "if."

During her line of questioning, Crockett asked UNC law professor Michael Gerhardt how many "ifs" he has counted from the GOP lawmakers and witnesses at Thursday's impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden.

Gerhardt said he had tallied "more than 35 times" the GOP lawmakers and witnesses "have used the word 'if.'"

"Thank you so much for that," Crockett responded. "Because, honestly, if they would continue to say 'if' or 'Hunter' and we were playing a drinking game, I would be drunk by now."

Tensions are boiling over between Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., repeated claims by Democrats that Republicans have no evidence with which to impeach President Biden.

"If my Republican colleagues had a so-called smoking gun, they would have presented it by now and would have talked about it non-stop," she said.

Chairman James Comer pointed to the stash of documents and other materials that they say is evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden related to his business dealings.

"Can the gentlelady read a bank statement, an email, a text message?" Comer responded.

Lee ignored the chairman: "Instead we're sitting here with no fact witnesses and no evidence in this sham so-called impeachment to distract from their inability to fulfill their basic duty."

Democrats have been pointing to the looming government shutdown, which could come this weekend if a spending bill is not agreed to, as a sign Congress should be focused on other issues.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee repeatedly sought to refocus the attention on former President Donald Trump during the Republican-led impeachment inquiry hearing on President Biden Thursday.

The committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., held its first impeachment inquiry public hearing, where members presented evidence uncovered to date as part of their investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings, while examining "the value" of the inquiry.

Committee Democrats repeatedly accused Republicans of taking cues from Trump in launching the inquiry and used the opportunity to highlight the former president’s myriad legal issues.

"President Trump has gone on his social media account and said we should be impeaching President Biden," Ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in his opening statement. "Kevin McCarthy said we have an impeachment inquiry. You draw the conclusion. Directly or indirectly, this impeachment inquiry was a result of President Trump's pressure."

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., accused the Republicans of trying to "distract" and "deflect" before launching into a guessing game with the only Democrat-appointed witness, law professor Michael Gerhardt, in which he inserted Biden's name for Trump's in order to try to illustrate that Trump, not Biden, should be investigated.

"So, Professor Gerhardt, I've heard concern about branding, so shouldn't we be concerned about all those Biden towers all over the world where foreign partnerships were formed and influence was used here in the United States?" Connolly said, knowingly alluding to Trump Towers located in cities across the globe.

"I think we are talking about Mr. Trump," Gerhardt responded.

Later in the hearing, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., mused that the former president "lives free in the Democrats’ heads."

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., slammed the House Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Biden as a "continuation of the [Jan. 6] insurrection' during an interview Sunday. 

"Many of [Kevin] McCarthy's folks go to the January 6 prisoners and visit them to give them comfort and aid, and so they've never accepted President Biden as a legitimate president," Swalwell said to MSNBC host Jen Psaki. "And this week, even as we are hurtling toward a shutdown, they'll hold impeachment proceedings, which is just a continuation of the insurrection — and so this is all about just putting Donald Trump in charge."

Psaki asked Swalwell — who sat on the Jan. 6 House committee — what he thinks of former President Trump’s purported role in the House’s decisions. The Democrat congressman said, "Donald Trump and McCarthy and the other pro-insurrection Republicans have never accepted Joe Biden as the president."

"The House, unfortunately, has become a law firm with just one client, Donald Trump," he said.

The House is probing Biden’s foreign business ties with his son, Hunter, in Ukraine and China. Republicans hope to unearth bribery negotiations that suggest Biden leveraged his position as then-vice president under former President Obama for personal gain.

The U.S. Department of Justice ordered FBI and IRS investigators involved in the Hunter Biden probe to "remove any reference" to President Biden in a search warrant related to a Foreign Agents Registration Act probe, documents released by the House Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday revealed.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., led a vote Wednesday to release new documents provided by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler that "corroborate their initial testimony to the Committee and reinforce their credibility and their high esteem among colleagues."

"The Biden Administration — including top officials at the Justice Department — lied to the American public and engaged in a cover-up that interfered with federal investigators and protected the Biden family, including President Biden himself," the committee said.

One document released Wednesday was an August 2020 email sent by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf in which she ordered investigators to remove any reference to "Political Figure 1" from a search warrant. Subsequent documents released Wednesday revealed that President Biden is "Political Figure 1."

"As a priority, someone needs to redraft attachment B," Wolf writes in the email. "I am not sure what this is cut and pasted from but other than the attribution location, and identity stuff at the end, none of it is appropriate and within the scope of this warrant." 

Wolf adds: "Please focus on FARA evidence only. There should be nothing about Political Figure 1 in here." 

A document released Wednesday and reviewed by Fox News Digital states that "Political Figure 1" is "Former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr."

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., recently said House Republicans must "not waste time" and deliver an "ironclad" case to impeach President Biden for the effort to succeed in the Senate. 

Tuberville earlier this month joined a growing chorus of Republican senators who are skeptical of the House GOP impeachment inquiry. He said the Senate "couldn't get the votes" to convict Biden in an impeachment trial but hoped the House at least would get to the truth concerning the abuse of power and corruption allegations made against the president.

"You don’t bring a vote to the floor unless you are pretty sure that you can get the amount of votes that you need," Tuberville said on NBC's "Meet the Press NOW." "I know that wouldn’t make it to anywhere over here in the Senate. That probably wouldn’t even — wouldn’t even let it make it to the floor. But again, this is all up to the House. We got enough problems going on right now."

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., announced the impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Sept. 12. He said House Republicans have "uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden's conduct" that will serve as the basis of an impeachment inquiry. 

The allegations against Biden concern the president's role in his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings and whether the Biden family used Joe Biden's public office for personal profit. The speaker said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will lead the inquiry in coordination with House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. 

As House Republicans move forward with impeachment, several Republican senators have expressed doubts about the effort. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has said she does not believe there is enough evidence to impeach Biden. Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., similarly questioned whether their House counterparts have alleged high crimes or misdemeanors against Biden specifically, Axios reported.

Tuberville said the impeachment case against Biden must be "ironclad."

"I’m not for impeachment unless it is ironclad," he said. "As I said about President Trump, if you’re gonna come after a former president or president, let’s not waste time. Let’s know the truth. Let’s be able to bring it out. Let the American people know."

"We got enough problems up here right now without going through an impeachment process, but they’ll do the right thing," he added, referring to the House. "Hopefully we just find out what’s going on and, and American people get the truth."

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry, wants Special Counsel David Weiss and other federal prosecutors involved in the Hunter Biden investigation to testify before his committee in October.

Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland earlier this month requesting documents and testimony as part of his investigation into the alleged politicization of the Justice Department under his leadership. 

Jordan requested that Weiss appear for his transcribed interview on Oct. 11, and added that he hopes for a public hearing with Weiss on Oct. 18. 

Further, Jordan requested Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, who allegedly told investigators to limit questioning about "dad" and "the big guy," to appear for her interview on Sept. 29; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves on Oct. 2; U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California E. Martin Estrada on Oct. 3; criminal chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Delaware Shawn Weede on Oct. 6; and assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Shannon Hanson on Oct. 10. 

Jordan gave the Justice Department a Sept. 27 deadline to confirm the interviews, which was yesterday. 

Garland appointed Weiss special counsel amid Republican allegations that politicization was impacting prosecutorial decisions against Hunter Biden. Whether President Biden placed his thumb on the scales in those decisions is an issue in the GOP-led impeachment inquiry. 

Among Weiss' first actions as special counsel was to charge Hunter Biden with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

The president's son pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Fox News' Brooke Singman and David Spunt contributed to this post.

A director with the IRS' criminal investigations division told House lawmakers that he was frustrated that the Justice Department did not charge Hunter Biden for failing to pay federal income tax in 2014 and 2015.

The IRS official, Michael Batdorf, testified to the House Ways & Means Committee on Sept. 12 as part of the panel's investigation into the Hunter Biden probe. Allegations that President Biden politicized the investigations into his son Hunter will be scrutinized in the House's impeachment inquiry. 

Shapley, who led the IRS' portion of the probe, said that Hunter Biden should have been charged with tax evasion for 2014, and for filing false tax returns for 2018 and 2019. With regard to the 2014 tax returns, Shapley said Hunter Biden did not report income from Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. 

Batdorf was asked whether the tax years for 2014 and 2015 were included in a special agent report form from the IRS’ Criminal Investigations division dated February 2022.

"That is correct," he said, confirming that it included a recommendation of "at least one felony count."

Batdorf said it is "correct" that he agreed with the IRS recommendation for charges, but was "surprised" when he learned that prosecutors would not charge for those tax years.

"Based on my supporting of the case all the way through, yes, I was surprised," Batdorf said.

When asked if he was frustrated, he replied, "Yeah. Of course there was some level of frustration, yes."

Fox News Digital first reported in December 2020 that Hunter Biden did not report "approximately $400,000" in income he collected from his position on the board of Burisma Holdings when he joined in 2014. 

Batdorf also testified that agents met with defense counsel for Hunter Biden multiple times.

When asked if that was typical during a tax investigation, Batdorf testified: "No."

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this post.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., used some spicy language to call out Democrats on the committee for their dismissal of Republican criticism of President Biden's conduct related to his family's business dealings.

Mace pointed to a 2017 deal with Chinese company CEFC, alleging the deal involved making millions "off of granting access to Joe Biden."

"Hunter even arranged for Joe Biden to share office space with the CCP aligned company CEFC," she said. 

"My Democrat colleagues say none of this is relevant because Joe Biden wasn't vice president while his family did these shady deals," she said. "Turns out that's complete and total bulls---. It's a lie."

"Biden referred to access his father as the keys to his family's only asset. Those words are going to come back and haunt Hunter Biden and his family forever," she said.

It's the latest moment in a fiery hearing that has seen Democrats and Republicans trade barbs over the impeachment inquiry -- with Democrats accusing Republicans of a lack of evidence of any wrongdoing from Biden.

Republicans, meanwhile, have said GOP-led investigations have uncovered how the Biden family created over 20 shell companies that raked in more than $20 million between 2014 and 2019.

House Democrats have repeatedly mentioned Rudy Giuliani, a former lawyer for President Donald Trump, at the impeachment inquiry hearing. 

Democrats say Giuliani promoted a "big lie" that then-Vice President Joe Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to fire a prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was threatening to investigate Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, whose board Hunter Biden served on. 

Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said this was the "opposite of the truth," and that Biden led a "coordinated global effort" to remove Shokin because he was corrupt. He asserted that Giuliani twisted the facts to accuse Biden of corruption  — an accusation repeatedly made by Trump — and quoted Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, who said there was "no evidence that Shokin was engaged in an investigation of Burisma or that Joe Biden's role in his firing was in any way connected to Burisma." 

Raskin later pointed to a letter Giuliani associate Lev Parnas sent to Congress urging Republicans to drop their Burisma investigation, calling it a "wild goose chase." 

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., demanded to know why Giuliani was not testifying at the hearing, since Trump sent Giuliani to Ukraine to urge the government there to open investigations into the Biden family. The pressure Trump exerted on Ukraine to investigate Biden ultimately became the basis for the first impeachment effort led by Democrats against Trump, of which the former president was acquitted. 

President Biden is among a small minority of U.S presidents who have faced impeachment by the House of Representatives. 

Only three U.S. presidents have been formally impeached by Congress — Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. Of those three, Trump was impeached twice in a single term in an effort led by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

No U.S. president has ever been convicted by the Senate on impeachment charges and removed from office.

One other president, Richard Nixon, faced an impeachment inquiry but Nixon resigned from office before charges were brought against him. 

The Constitution sets a high bar for impeachment. The Founding Fathers intentionally made the process difficult to discourage lawmakers from bringing up frivolous charges against a president they didn't like.

Article II, Section 4 states: "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." 

Today's hearing is to investigate evidence Republicans say shows how Biden committed "high crimes and misdemeanors" which would fuel impeachment charges.

The White House is counting down to a looming government shutdown as part of its efforts to provide counterprogramming to the House Oversight Committee's impeachment inquiry.

"There are 60 hours and 55 minutes until the government shuts down because of extreme House Republicans’ chaos and inability to govern," the White House said in a statement. "The consequences for the American people will be very damaging – from lost jobs, to troops working without pay, to jeopardizing important efforts to fight fentanyl, provide food assistance, and more.

"Nothing can distract from that," they said.

It is similar to earlier statements the White House has issued, but with an updated countdown clock.

The government is on course to shut down unless funding is provided by Congress by a weekend deadline. The White House has warned of the potential damage that could cause across government agencies and to the American people.

Meanwhile, Republicans on the committee are outlining the scope of their inquiry into Hunter Biden's business dealings and President Biden's potential involvement in them -- as well as the key questions Republicans seek to answer with their inquiry.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said Republicans have received "a mountain of evidence" implicating President Biden in allegedly corrupt business dealings in his opening statement.

"President Biden has lied to the American people about his knowledge of and participation in his family's corrupt business schemes. At least ten times. Joe Biden lied to the American people that he never spoke to his family about their business dealings," Comer said. 

At today's impeachment inquiry hearing, Republicans will present evidence they say shows Biden committed offenses for which he should be impeached. 

Comer said GOP-led investigations have uncovered how the Biden family created over 20 shell companies that raked in more than $20 million between 2014 and 2019. "Now what were the Bidens selling to make all this money? Joe Biden himself," Comer stated. 

"Joe Biden is the brand and Joe Biden showed up at least two dozen times with business targets and associates, sending signals of access, influence and power to those prepared to pay for it. The American people demand accountability for this culture of corruption." 

A motion by Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin to subpoena "key figures" Rudy Giuliani and associate Lev Parnas to appear before the committee.

The motion had drawn some confusion from Chairman James Comer, who asked: "Key figures for what?"

Republicans responded by proposing a motion to table Raskin's motion, which succeeded 20-19 -- killing Raskin's effort.

It marks the latest in a fiery opening to the hearing, where Republicans have outlined the scope of their impeachment inquiry into whether President Biden has committed wrongdoing in relation to his family's business dealings.

Meanwhile, Democrats and the White House have dismissed the effort as politically-motivated and baseless, while pointing to the looming government shutdown that could come as soon as this weekend.

Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., tore into the impeachment inquiry against President Biden in his opening statement, throwing criticisms from Republican impeachment skeptics right back at GOP lawmakers.

Raskin said Republicans "don't have a shred of evidence against President Biden for an impeachable offense." 

"And you think I'm being harsh? Here's what some Republicans have had to say over the last week about the actions of the Republicans as they watch up close, 'the dysfunction caucus at work,'" Raskin said, quoting Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who criticized the impeachment drive. 

Raskin rattled off derisive remarks from other Republicans who have condemned the investigations led by Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways & Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo.

"'Clown show', 'foolishness,' terribly misguided', 'stupidity', 'failure to lead,' 'lunatics,' 'disgraceful,' 'new low,' 'pathetic,'" Raskin read, while his staff held up signs quoting various GOP lawmakers.

"These are Republicans talking about Republicans," the Maryland lawmaker said. "So let's be clear: This isn't partizan warfare America is seeing today. It's chaotic infighting between Republicans and Republicans. It's MAGA versus extreme MAGA, as if anybody in the real world could tell the difference between the two. What a staggering failure of leadership."

The White House is taking aim at House Republicans over the looming government shutdown, just as they launch into an impeachment effort against President Biden.

"There are 61 hours and 55 minutes until the government shuts down because of extreme House Republicans’ chaos and inability to govern," a White House spokesperson said in a statement.

"The consequences for the American people will be very damaging – from lost jobs, to troops working without pay, to jeopardizing important efforts to fight fentanyl, deliver disaster relief, provide food assistance, and more. Nothing can distract from that."

That statement was echoed by Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, who made the same connection in the hearing itself.

"We're 62 hours away from shutting down the government of the United States of America. And Republicans are launching an impeachment drive based on a long debunked and discredited lie," he said.