Hunter Biden struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and there have been repeated investigations against the president’s son. The Republicans now want to take advantage of this.
The US Republicans have been targeting Hunter Biden for a long time, and now the president’s son has to face impeachment proceedings against his father Joe Biden. The impeachment process is intended to uncover alleged illegal activities by the Bidens, according to the conservative majority leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
The Republicans have not yet provided any concrete evidence for their allegations, but Hunter Biden certainly offers a target – an overview.
Is Hunter Biden a criminal?
This week, the US state of Delaware initiated proceedings against Hunter Biden for illegal possession of weapons. The 53-year-old is said to have bought a weapon by giving false information in October 2021. In 2021, Hunter Biden opened up about his drug addiction in a book. However, this fact would have excluded him from buying the weapon, according to the public prosecutor.
There had previously been investigations against the lawyer and businessman because he allegedly failed to pay income tax of more than $100,000 on time in 2017 and 2018. Here you can read more about it.
Initially, the public prosecutor announced that they had reached an agreement with Hunter Biden to avoid a trial in both cases. However, that deal fell through at a court hearing at the end of July. In mid-August, US Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special investigator in the case: David Weiss, who had previously investigated Hunter Biden, was given additional powers and pushed forward the investigation. A second indictment in connection with the tax offenses could still follow.
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What was Hunter Biden doing in Ukraine?
Joe Biden’s second son from his first marriage to Neilia Hunter Biden also made negative headlines due to his alcohol addiction and legal disputes with an ex-stripper over maintenance for an illegitimate child.
The family’s reputation was also damaged by a position on the supervisory board of the Ukrainian gas provider Burisma, which Hunter Biden took over in 2014. Shortly afterwards, Joe Biden, then US Vice President, made corruption allegations against the owner of Burisma.
Hunter Biden then resigned from his board position, but Republicans continue to use the case to this day to stir up distrust against Joe Biden. There were no criminal investigations into the matter.
What is the purpose of the impeachment process?
There is enough evidence of abuse of power, cover-up and corruption against Joe Biden to justify further investigations, Kevin McCarthy said earlier this week at the start of the impeachment proceedings. Together with his son, Biden is said to have used his position as Barack Obama’s deputy from 2008 to 2016 for illegal business, for example in China and Ukraine, according to the claim.
Republicans like former President Donald Trump have repeatedly accused the Biden family of receiving payments from dubious accounts and accusing them of being involved in criminal activities. These allegations were never substantiated: “You yourself said that there is no evidence,” said Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, commenting on the proceedings. “The president did nothing wrong.”
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By initiating proceedings against Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy is reacting to pressure within the party in the House of Representatives. The Republicans only have a slim majority there. Trump supporters in the group had threatened to block the 2024 budget and force a government shutdown if McCarthy did not open proceedings against Biden. Here you can read more about it.
The proceedings are seen as a retaliation against the Democrats, who had tried twice to remove Donald Trump from office: because he wanted to force the Ukrainian government to lie against Joe Biden and because of the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021.
