The United States House of Representatives, on Wednesday, voted to formally authorize its ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden in a move that could give them more legal firepower to investigate the President’s family’s business dealings.
The Republican-controlled House voted 221-212 along party lines to approve the probe which is examining whether Biden improperly benefited from his 53-year-old son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, hours after the younger Biden refused a call to testify behind closed doors.
The vote puts Republicans in districts that Biden won in 2020 on the record about whether they support an investigation that has so far uncovered no wrongdoing by the president.
For months, Republicans on the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees have been trying to show that Biden was enriched by his family’s foreign business dealings and accepted bribes.
However, the full House never voted to open an impeachment probe, leading many Democrats to question its legal authority.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan who is the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, believes the vote is a strong message to the White House that all Republicans voted for it.
“This helps us get the witnesses, the key witnesses, that we want,” he said while addressing newsmen.
GOP lawmakers also believe that a vote to formally authorize the inquiry would give them leverage in court as they seek documents and witness testimony, including from Hunter Biden, who defied a subpoena to appear for a closed-door deposition on Wednesday.