House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on Thursday formally invited Joe Biden to testify publicly before his panel as part of its impeachment inquiry.
Comer noted in a letter to Biden that the Committee has evidence that he, his family, and their business associates have received over $24 million from foreign sources, with “no legitimate services to merit such lucrative payments.”
“You have repeatedly denied playing any role in your family’s business activities, but the Committee has amassed evidence—including bank records and witness testimony—that wholly contradicts your position on these matters,” Comer wrote.
“The Bidens received $15 million from China, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Romania and the Oversight Committee traced how $40,000 from CEFC, a Chinese government linked energy company, landed in Joe Biden’s bank account,” Comer said. “During the investigation’s interview and deposition phase, Biden family associates provided evidence of Joe Biden’s knowledge of and participation in his family’s business schemes.”
Comer confronted Biden about claims he’s made about his family’s business schemes that have been disproven, such as his assertions that he never interacted with his family’s business associates, and never discussed business with his family and their associates.
“In light of the yawning gap between your public statements and the evidence assembled by the Committee as well as the White House’s obstruction, it is in the best interest of the American people for you to answer questions from Members of Congress directly, and I hereby invite you to do so,” the chairman said.
“The public is left with two irreconcilable narratives. The first—asserted by you—is that you did not engage in influence peddling in exchange for payments to your family. The second—asserted by witnesses and a body of evidence I will briefly review below—is that you were indeed involved in these pay-for-influence schemes and that you have been repeatedly untruthful regarding a matter relevant to national security and your own fitness to serve as President of the United States,” he added.
Comer requested that Biden appear before the committee on April 16 to explain, under oath, discrepancies that refute his previous claims.
White House spokesman Ian Sams threw cold water on the notion of Biden testifying, writing on X last week: “Comer knows 20+ witnesses have testified that POTUS did nothing wrong. He knows that the hundreds of thousands of pages of records he’s received have refuted his false allegations. This is a sad stunt at the end of a dead impeachment. Call it a day, pal.”
Meanwhile, Democrats on the Oversight Committee wrote on X Thursday that Republicans “couldn’t find an impeachable offense,” and called evidence in the probe “comically distorted and twisted.”
“The GOP impeachment inquiry has been a circus. Time to fold up the tent,” they added.
During the Impeachment hearing last week, Former Biden family business associates Tony Bobulinski and Jason Galanis both testified that Joe Biden personally participated in schemes to help boost Hunter Biden’s business ventures.
In his own closed-door deposition with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees last month, Hunter testified that he did not involve his father in his business schemes, and condemned the probe as a “baseless and destructive political charade” based on “MAGA-motivated conspiracies.”
Bobulinski last week accused Hunter and Jim Biden of telling “flat-out lies” during their interviews with the Committee, and urged Comer to hold them accountable for their perjury.
“If there is no evidence of corruption—if Joe’s conduct and the conduct of his family were fully legal and proper—then why are they so dishonest about it?” Bobulinski asked. “Not just slight misrepresentations of fact but deep untruths about the entire corrupt enterprise.”
“I hope this Committee will hold them accountable for their perjury before you,” Bobulinski said.
“How are the American people supposed to get the unvarnished facts and truth when the son and brother of Joe Biden are willing to perjure themselves to protect the
family?” he asked.
Earlier this month, Comer hinted that criminal referrals could be coming soon in the case.