Joe Biden: Republicans hold first hearing in impeachment inquiry
Joe Biden used his influence to make money for his family and tried to hide it, claimed Republicans in the first hearing of their impeachment inquiry.
James Comer, the Oversight Committee chairman, said there was “a mountain of evidence” showing he “abused his public office for his family’s financial gain”.
“This is a tale as old as time,” added another Republican, Jim Jordan.
“Politician takes action that makes money for his family and then he tries to conceal it.”
Despite the claims, nothing has proven that Mr Biden abused his position during his eight years as vice president.
The White House has said the impeachment investigation is baseless and politically motivated ahead of next year’s likely election showdown with Donald Trump.
A forensic accountant, a former Justice Department official and two law professors appeared at Thursday’s session – but nobody with direct knowledge of the allegations.
Professor Jonathan Turley, an impeachment expert called by the Republicans, said the threshold for an inquiry had been passed but there was not enough to impeach.
“I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” Professor Turley said.
The House of Representatives Oversight Committee is conducting the inquiry
Forensic accountant Bruce Dubinsky backed up that assessment.
Another law professor and Democrat witness, Michael Gerhardt, said the evidence wasn’t even sufficient for an inquiry.
“A fishing expedition is not a legitimate purpose,” he told the hearing.
Republicans claim Mr Biden and his family profited from policies he pursued between 2009 to 2017 and that son Hunter took advantage of his father’s name.
“Hunter Biden cashed in by arranging access to Joe Biden, the family brand,” Mr Comer told the hearing.
Central to the probe are allegations Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire a top prosecutor to stop an investigation into Burisma, an energy firm his son was on the board of.
However, multiple foreign and US officials have said he was only pursuing official policy to fight corruption in pre-war Ukraine.
Republican representative Jim Jordan alleged it was an age-old tale of corruption
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It is also claimed the Justice Department interfered with a tax investigation into Hunter Biden – who is set to plead not guilty to a gun charge next month and has struggled with drugs in the past.
Ahead of the hearing, Republicans released documents detailing money transfers from a Chinese businessman to Hunter Biden in 2019 – in which he put his father’s address on the form.
Republicans claimed it showed a definite link to the president.
Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden in February 2023
A lawyer for Hunter Biden said the money was a loan and that he had put down his father’s address because it was on his driving licence and his only permanent residence at the time.
“Once again Rep Comer peddles lies to support a premise – some wrongdoing by Hunter Biden or his family – that evaporates in thin air the moment facts come out,” said lawyer Abbe Lowell.
‘No smoking gun’
“If Republicans had a smoking gun or even a dripping water pistol they would be presenting it today. But they’ve got nothing,” said Jamie Raskin, the hearing’s top Democrat.
It’s unclear if Republicans, who have a slim majority in the House of Representatives, would have enough votes at the end of the inquiry to move forward with the impeachment process.
Even if the vote did go their way, it’s extremely unlikely the Senate – where Democrats hold a majority – would vote to remove Mr Biden from power.
Donald Trump was impeached twice during his presidency – one of them for allegedly allegedly pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden ahead of the 2020 election.
He was acquitted both times by the Senate.
The impeachment hearing comes as House Republicans face off against Democrats over government funding for the fiscal year starting on 1 October.
Large parts of the government will shut down if they cannot agree.
Democrat Jamie Raskin scolded the panel: “We’re 62 hours away from shutting down the government of the United States of America and Republicans are launching an impeachment drive, based on a long debunked and discredited lie.”
A federal court has paused aspects of a plan by Donald Trump to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and put roughly 2,700 of its staff on leave.
District judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by the US president during his first term, agreed with legal arguments from the largest government workers’ union and an association of foreign service workers.
They sued to stop Mr Trump’s administration attempting to close USAID, which distributes billions of dollars of humanitarian aid around the world.
Justice department official Brett Shumate told Judge Nichols that about 2,200 USAID employees would be put on paid leave under the administration’s plans.
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What is USAID?
“The president has decided there is corruption and fraud at USAID,” said Mr Shumate.
It echoes comments President Trump made on Friday in a post on Truth Social accusing USAID – without evidence – of corruption and spending money fraudulently.
But Karla Gilbride, a lawyer for the unions, argued the plans were unlawful: “The major reduction in force, as well as the closure of offices, the forced relocation of these individuals were all done in excess of the executive’s authority in violation of the separation of powers.”
Judge Nichols’s order, which is in effect until 14 February, blocks Mr Trump’s administration from implementing plans to place the 2,200 USAID workers on paid leave from Saturday.
It also reinstates some 500 employees who had already been furloughed.
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And there will be a ban on relocating USAID humanitarian workers stationed outside the US, after overseas staff were ordered to return home within 30 days.
Judge Nichols will consider a request for a longer-term pause at a hearing scheduled for next week.
But he rejected other requests from the unions to reopen USAID buildings and restore funding for agency grants and contracts.
Soon after being inaugurated, Mr Trump ordered all US foreign aid be paused to ensure it is aligned with his “America First” policy.
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The dismantling of USAID has largely been overseen by Elon Musk, who is spearheading the president’s effort to cut costs and bureaucracy.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio insists the government will continue providing foreign aid, “but it is going to be foreign aid that makes sense and is aligned with our national interest”.
Friday’s ruling is the latest setback in the courts for the Trump administration.
Judges have temporarily paused other controversial policies, including one offering financial incentives for federal workers to resign and another ending American citizenship for anyone born in the US if their parents are in the country illegally.
A small plane which crashed in western Alaska with 10 people on board has been found and the US Coast Guard (USCG) says there were no survivors.
The Bering Air flight left Unalakleet at 2.38pm on Thursday but contact was lost less than an hour later, the firm’s operations director David Olson said.
On Saturday, in a post on X, the coastguard said: “USCG has ended its search for the missing plane after the aircraft was located approx 34 miles southeast of Nome. 3 individuals were found inside and reported to be deceased.
“The remaining 7 people are believed to be inside the aircraft but are currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane. Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident.”
The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan – carrying a pilot and nine adult passengers – was flying across Norton Sound when tracking site Flightradar24 reported it at 5,300ft before contact was lost.
It was travelling from Unalakleet, a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, to Nome, a gold rush town just south of the Arctic Circle.
The flight time is normally just under an hour.
Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard, said rescuers were searching the aircraft’s last known location by helicopter when they spotted the wreckage. They lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate.
The plane was heading to Nome, just south of the Arctic Circle. Pic: AP
In a post on Facebook, Nome’s fire department issued an update: “The Nome Search and Rescue Team is spooling up with assistance from the Alaska Air National Guard with recovery efforts.
“From reports we have received, the crash was not survivable. Our thoughts are with the families at this time.”
On Friday, Lieutenant Benjamin McIntyre-Coble, from the Alaskan coastguard, explained that the plane suffered a rapid loss of altitude and speed, according to radar data, but did not expand on the potential cause.
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Weather in Unalakleet at take-off time was -8.3C (17F) with fog and light snow, according to the US National Weather Service.
Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska and air travel is often the only option of travelling long distances in rural parts of the US state, especially in winter.
It comes soon after two major air accidents in the US in recent weeks.
Sixty-seven people were killed when a jet and helicopter collided in Washington DC and seven died when a medical plane crashed in Philadelphia.
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