Republicans in the House of Representatives publish report on impeachment proceedings against Biden

House Republicans released a report on Monday concluding that President Joe Biden is guilty of impeachment, an update to the months-long impeachment process that Democrats say shows no wrongdoing has been uncovered.

The nearly 300-page report from three Republican-led House committees rehashed many of the allegations that Republicans had made publicly in this Congress, accusing Biden of abusing his public office to enrich his family during his tenure as vice president.

The release coincides with the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where the party is gathering to rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris rather than fight for Biden's re-election.

The summary states that the impeachment process is still ongoing, but the report was published because “there is significant interest among Members of Parliament in the status of the process and in correcting false and misleading allegations.”

But the report does little to clarify whether Republicans in the House will move forward with impeachment proceedings against Biden, especially now that he leaves office in January.

In a statement on the report, Republican spokesman Mike Johnson of Louisiana simply thanked the committees for their work and urged Americans to read the report.

House Republicans hold a slim majority on the floor, and an impeachment vote could pose a difficult decision for moderate Republicans seeking to retain their seats in November's general election. Still, one lawmaker could try to force a floor vote.

As part of the investigation into alleged influence peddling by the younger Biden years before his father's presidency, Republicans in the House of Representatives have attempted to link the business dealings of the president's son, Hunter Biden, to his father.

The report alleges that “the Biden family and its business associates” obtained money “from foreign interests by misleading those interests into believing that such payments would give them access to and influence over President Biden.”

The report argues that it is “inconceivable” that Biden Sr. did not understand “that he was participating in an attempt to enrich his family by abusing his office of public trust.”

Democrats have repeatedly sharply criticized the impeachment process. A memorandum released by Democrats on Monday said the mountain of information gathered by Republicans “proves that Joe Biden committed no wrongdoing.”

“The extensive evidence the Committee has assembled clearly demonstrates that Joe Biden – neither as President, Vice President, nor in his private capacity – participated in, profited from, or took any official action to benefit his family members' business activities,” the memorandum said.

Partisan crush

The impeachment report sparked a new round of partisan debates over the legitimacy of the Republicans' allegations.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James R. Comer (R-Ky.) said the information obtained through the impeachment process was “the strongest case for the impeachment of a sitting president that the House has ever considered.”

“President Biden’s legacy is one of abuse of power, corruption and obstruction,” Comer said.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump twice during his presidency, first over his dealings with Ukraine and then after the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Senate acquitted Trump both times.

Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, mocked Monday's report, saying it was “a Republican banana cream pie that they just shoved in their own faces.”

“It is not surprising that Republicans today give us nothing but pathetic allegations and still cannot even name the alleged high crimes and misdemeanors they believe Joe Biden committed,” Raskin said.

Hunter Biden’s business dealings have been the focus of Republican lawmakers in the current Congress.

Then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced last September that the House of Representatives, under pressure from the right wing of the Republican Party, would begin impeachment proceedings against President Biden. And in December, the chamber passed a measure to formalize the proceedings in a GOP vote.

Sharon Yang, White House spokeswoman for oversight investigations, said House Republicans had “finally given up their senseless hunt.”

“This failed stunt will only be remembered because it became an embarrassment that its own members distanced themselves from because they could only provide evidence to disprove their false and baseless conspiracy theories,” Yang said.