President Joe Biden responded on Dec. 6 to allegations regarding his involvement in his family members’ business dealings, dismissing the accusations as a “bunch of lies.”
The president’s response followed his speech advocating for Congress to swiftly pass supplemental funding for Ukraine before the holiday break.
Following his address, President Biden took a few questions from reporters, including one referencing a recent poll by The Associated Press. The poll found that most Americans (70 percent), including 40 percent of Democrats, believe that President Biden “has acted either illegally or unethically in his son’s business dealings.”
When asked about why the president interacted with his son’s and brother’s foreign business associates, the president responded, “I’m not going to comment on it. I did not. It’s just a bunch of lies.”
When pressed further on whether he had indeed engaged with his family’s business associates, he reiterated, “I did not.”
House Republicans have been looking into allegations that the Biden family profited from foreign nationals by using Joe Biden’s position as vice president of the United States and later as a leading presidential candidate, as well as allegations that the Biden administration blocked investigations into these claims.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced on Dec. 5 that a vote to initiate an inquiry into President Biden’s impeachment will take place next week, before the House adjourns for the holidays.
“This vote is not a vote to impeach President Biden. This is a vote to continue the inquiry of impeachment, and that’s a necessary constitutional step,” he said during a news conference.
According to top Republicans, an impeachment inquiry will help to further the investigation by granting subpoena power and access to new materials. In response, the White House claims that it has cooperated in turning over more than 35,000 pages of confidential financial records.
The White House has repeatedly rebuffed these charges, labeling the impeachment inquiry “illegitimate” and “baseless.”
The White House recently issued an 18-page memo disputing the charges and stated that Republicans are pursuing a “baseless impeachment stunt” despite providing no proof of misconduct by President Biden in a continuous effort to defame the president.
According to Ian Sams, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, Republicans are prioritizing the wrong things, and voting for the impeachment inquiry would demonstrate that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is “truly calling the shots.”
“Marjorie Taylor Greene may be clamoring for the House to proceed to impeachment, but numerous House Republicans have already gone on record that the evidence just doesn’t back it up,” Mr. Sams said in a statement shared with The Epoch Times.
“All these House Republicans and their colleagues should answer for why they would change [their] tune now and go along with her baseless exercise to smear President Biden when their allegations have already been thoroughly fact-checked and debunked.”
President Biden exchanged more than 50 emails with one of his son’s business partners, according to a recently disclosed document. Before he became president, he emailed Eric Schwerin while using an alias, the paper showed.
The emails were exchanged as early as Jan. 6, 2014, and as late as Feb. 2, 2015, according to an email log released by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.
President Biden was vice president from 2009 to 2017. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mr. Schwerin didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Just five of the emails were exchanged before President Biden traveled to Ukraine in June 2014. Most of them came after the trip.
“Evidence from today’s documents show right around the time of international trips like those to Ukraine, Joe Biden was emailing his son and his son’s business partner from private email accounts using aliases while Vice President,” Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement.
