By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A United States House committee continues to probe whether President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, used his father’s influence to enhance his business dealings abroad.
The House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas to Hunter Biden as well as to James Biden, the president’s brother.
Eastern Kansas Congressman Jake LaTurner sits on the Oversight Committee and insists the committee isn’t obsessed with the president, pointing to its investigations into the southern border, the mismanaged Afghanistan withdrawal, as well as waste and abuse in the government.
“And we’ve also been following the facts as it relates to Joe Biden and his influence peddling schemes,” LaTurner tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post in an interview.
LaTurner and his fellow Republicans accuse the Democratic president of using his influence, both when he was vice president and now to help his son’s business ventures. LaTurner says Republicans on the committee have been uncovering some unsavory trends.
“The headline for all of this is: trust in the government is at an all-time low,” according to LaTurner. “And I sure as heck understand why. It’s because these institutions that people used to trust have become politicized.”
House Republicans have issued subpoenas to members of President Joe Biden's family, taking their most aggressive step yet toward an impeachment inquiry bitterly opposed by Democrats that is testing the reach of congressional oversight powers.
The long-awaited move by Congressman James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, to subpoena the president's son Hunter and brother James comes as Republicans look to gain ground in their nearly yearlong investigation. So far, they have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating the president in any wrongdoing.
But Republicans say the evidence trail they have uncovered paints a troubling picture of “influence peddling” by Biden's family in their business dealings, particularly with clients overseas.
The White House and leading Democrats have continuously dismissed the investigation as a political ploy aimed at hurting the Democratic president. They say the probe is a blatant attempt to help former President Donald Trump, the early front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, as he runs again for the White House.
LaTurner brushes aside the charge.
“The best thing they can do is make this seem like a partisan witch hunt, so they can discredit what we’re doing,” LaTurner responds. “But the facts don’t lie. The bank records don’t lie. The American people deserve to know who has influence over their government, especially when we’re talking about these foreign companies.”
LaTurner says he has not made up his mind about the extent of President Biden’s role in his son’s business dealings and whether it reaches the level of an impeachable offense.
“I have not said, and I’ll say it to you now, I have not said that Joe Biden should be impeached,” LaTurner says. “I think that that would be an irresponsible thing for me to say before all the facts are uncovered. And when they all are uncovered, we need to take the information, we need to look at it hard, and make a determination at that time. But to do that prematurely would be wrong.”
Democrats charge Republicans have already made up their minds.
The attorney for Hunter Biden calls the subpoenas “yet another political stunt” and said the investigation has been full of “worn-out, false, baseless, or debunked claims.”
The Associate Press contributed to this article.