House Oversight Chairman James Comer has officially invited President Joe Biden to testify at a public hearing, as House Republicans seek to rekindle interest in their stalled impeachment investigation targeting the president – despite the White House dismissing the effort as “a sad stunt.”
Comer proposed holding the hearing on April 16, but said he was open to negotiating with the White House on a date that worked with the president’s schedule.
What is the impeachment investigation about?
House Republicans claim President Biden participated in a “influence peddling” operation that aided his family members’ business businesses. The White House and President Biden have denied the charges, claiming that the President had no unethical connections to his family members’ financial dealings.
But House Republicans claim to have information that contradicts President Biden’s assertions. “In light of the yawning gap between your public statements and the evidence assembled by the Committee,” Comer said in the letter, “…it is in the best interest of the American people for you to answer questions from Members of Congress directly.”
Hunter Biden, the president’s son, has already testified before Congress that his father was not involved in and did not profit financially from his personal business operations.
Last month, the Justice Department prosecuted former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov for allegedly lying to his handlers regarding President Biden’s involvement in his son Hunter’s business transactions. The Justice Department also accused Smirnov of manufacturing evidence to support his claimed lies.
According to the indictment, Smirnov allegedly claimed that the Ukrainian industrial business Burisma Holdings recruited Hunter Biden solely to protect him from his father. House Republicans’ charges have focused on Hunter’s work with Burisma and his father’s connections to his colleagues there.