Joe Biden accused of impeachment ahead of Democratic convention

Washington:

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives released a report on Monday accusing Democratic President Joe Biden of impeachable offenses, but it is unclear whether they would push for a vote following an investigation that the White House has long dismissed as politically motivated.

A 291-page report by three House committees alleges that Biden has benefited from a system of influence since 2014, when he was vice president, and has enriched himself and members of his family through foreign business dealings.

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

It was unclear whether Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson would schedule a vote on Biden's impeachment in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 5 election, in which Republican Donald Trump is in a neck-and-neck race with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Even if the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed such a measure, it would be unlikely to remove Biden from office because he would have to be convicted by a Senate controlled by his own Democratic Party by a vote of 51-49. Biden, who withdrew his own re-election bid last month, is expected to leave office when his successor is sworn in on Jan. 20.

A similar impeachment trial against Biden's top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, was quickly ended by the Senate in April.

House investigators allege that Biden abused his influence to promote his son Hunter Biden's business dealings with partners in Ukraine, China, Russia and other countries.

Hunter Biden was found guilty of lying about his illegal drug use to buy a gun and is now awaiting trial on tax evasion charges including accepting payments from a Romanian businessman who tried to influence U.S. authorities in connection with a criminal investigation in Romania.

The impeachment inquiry, which lawmakers formally approved last December and was conducted by the House Oversight, Judiciary and Budget committees, was criticized by members of both parties for failing to provide solid evidence of wrongdoing by Biden.

Democrats have dismissed the action as retaliation for Trump, who was twice impeached by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives and acquitted each time by the Senate. In the first impeachment, Trump was accused of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to defame Joe Biden in return for US aid.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)