As the House Republican impeachment report on President Joe Biden nears completion, some Republican leaders are suggesting a delay in its release as the Democrats are “destroying themselves” with the debate over Biden’s reelection bid, according to Representative James Comer.
Over the past several months, House Republicans have investigated President Biden over allegations that he was involved with and benefited from his son Hunter Biden‘s foreign business dealings. The White House has repeatedly denied that Joe Biden had anything to do with his son’s dealings.
In June, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Comer, announced that they were referring both Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden, for criminal prosecution on accusations that they lied “about key aspects of the impeachment inquiry.” Both had previously appeared in closed-door meetings with the committee, denying the president’s involvement in their business dealings.
Two weeks on from Joe Biden’s widely criticized debate performance against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on June 27, some House GOP leaders, including Representative Jason Smith, are pushing to delay the release of the report, according to Punchbowl News.
The House Oversight Committee’s spokesperson told Newsweek in an email, “the fact that President Biden is declining mentally and Hunter Biden acts as a gatekeeper in the White House shows the need to remove Joe Biden from public office is even more pressing. We will continue to work with the other committees to finalize and release a joint impeachment inquiry report as expeditiously as possible.”
The Democratic Party has been in disarray following President Biden’s poor debate performance, with the Biden campaign working to solidify support behind his reelection bid while others, including several sitting Democratic House members and Senator Peter Welch, have asked the president to step aside.
Ways and Means Committee Chair, Representative Jason Smith—an advocate of holding the report’s release—said, “Just sit back and let the Democrats keep shooting each other,” adding, “That’s my advice. But we do need to release it at some point.”