Democrats on Wednesday urged Republicans to find the illegal behavior at the center of their investigation into President Biden in a hearing scheduled amid increasing GOP uncertainty about the future of their impeachment inquiry.
The Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday was relatively uneventful, for a panel known for providing some of Congress’s most shocking moments, and proceeded even as Hunter Biden chose not to participate.
Republicans left an empty seat and nameplate for Hunter Biden, but the president’s son managed to avoid much attention in a hearing that was meant to review his business dealings and link them to his father.
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) at one point emphasized that “this hearing is not about Hunter Biden. This investigation is not about Hunter Biden. It is about Joe Biden and the lies he continues to tell the American people.”
However, two GOP-invited witnesses did not present any new claims, while Lev Parnas, a former operative for Rudy Giuliani who was invited by Democrats, changed his previous work and testified that he never found any evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden.
Democrats were quick to highlight statements from a growing list of Republican skeptics of the investigation, asking the GOP to identify the serious crime or wrongdoing at the core of their impeachment inquiry.
It was also the first hearing in the GOP impeachment inquiry since an FBI informant was arrested on charges related to lying to agency in fabricating claims President Biden accepted a bribe while vice president to take actions to benefit the Ukrainian energy company where his son served on the board.
“At this point the story isn’t the fact that the basis of this impeachment inquiry is wrong. The story is why it is proceeding anyway?” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said, adding the GOP has “no charges.”
“I have yet to hear in the chairman’s opening the allegation that they are specifically charging the president of the United States with. I am hearing about the ‘Biden family.’ I am hearing about this and that. I am not hearing the specific allegation by this committee. What is it? It is not here. And that is the problem. The story is when this committee knew they were working with falsified evidence? That is the story.”
Hunter Biden chose not to attend the hearing after previously requesting to appear publicly. A letter from his lawyer stated that GOP leaders did not reach out to him prior to setting a hearing date, scheduling the hearing the day before he is due in court in California.
Instead, Republicans relied on two witnesses with little connection to Hunter Biden or his father.
Tony Bobulinski briefly worked with Hunter Biden on a Chinese investment deal that never materialized. He later became associated with allies of former President Trump, attending a presidential debate at his invitation and currently being represented by an attorney who assisted Trump White House aides before the Jan. 6 committee through funds supplied through entities connected with the former president.
Jason Galanis, who is currently in prison for fraud, said he worked with Hunter Biden, but that is being disputed. Hunter Biden said he only remembers meeting Jason Galanis 10 years ago for 30 minutes.
Democrats accused Republicans of choosing two witnesses whose testimony has been contradicted by nearly 20 other witnesses.
Bobulinski’s appeal to the GOP comes from his claims that a 2017 email chain suggesting business partners set aside money for “the big guy” referred to President Biden, who had just left office. The matter was not further discussed on the chain.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) referred to an interview with another former partner, James Gilliar, who said President Biden was never involved in the discussion and had nothing to do with the deal.
“You and James Gilliar wanted Joe Biden involved and that is why Hunter Biden dumped you and did the business on his own,” Goldman said.
Hunter Biden has called for an investigation. requested an investigation into Bobulinski, portraying him as a spurned business partner who was not even present at a meeting where payment structures were discussed, and questioning whether he lied about the matter to the FBI.
On Wednesday, Democrats also moved to subpoena Bobulinski’s phone records, noting the committee only has screenshots from his phone, something the witness said was due to an FBI inability to mirror the data from an old blackberry.
But Republicans voted down the measure, as they did in a prior hearing when Democrats sought to subpoena Giuliani.
Parnas’s appearance was one of his most public since leaving prison in September after serving time on charges related to fraud and campaign finance crimes.
The close associate of Giuliani criticized his former boss, as well as other Trump officials, including former Attorney General Bill Barr.
While tasked with investigating the Bidens, Parnas said he came up short, accusing Giuliani and others of falsely smearing the Biden family despite a lack of evidence.
“In nearly a year traveling the world and interviewing officials in different countries, I found precisely zero evidence of the Biden’s corruption in Ukraine. No credible sources ever provided proof of criminal activity,” Parnas said.
But Republicans criticized Democrats for calling Parnas as a witness.
“The Democrats could have sent anyone. They could have sent Hunter Biden, they could have sent Joe Biden. …The Democrats could have sought any person to come a refute the direct evidence backed up by bank statements, backed up calendar entries, backed up by e-mails, backed up by text messages. But who did democrats send to clear the name of Joe and Hunter Biden? They sent Lev Parnas. Lev Parnas who was charged with enough crimes and violating our campaign finance laws to, like, serve 50 years,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said.
The hearing comes at a critical time for the GOP investigation.
Leaders have been considering skipping any formal vote on their impeachment inquiry, and are now instead considering making a criminal referral to the Justice Department, another potentially difficult path.
Some Republicans are openly expressing doubts about the investigation, questioning its basis in evidence, and whether it will ever be voted on by the House.
Conservative media have also been increasingly skeptical, with a Newsmax anchor telling House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), “Unless you get Democratic votes, this is going to be real tough. So, it kind of seems like you’re chasing your tail at this point because this is not going to go anywhere.”
Comer supported the investigation at the end of the hearing.
“Mr. Bobulinski, Mr. Galanis have given testimony directly linking Mr. Biden and his family’s influence peddling schemes, schemes that brought over $24 million to the Biden family and their business associates,” Comer said.
A Washington Post fact check found that the majority of that money went to other business associates, not the Biden family.
“For what? I’ve never heard the minority say what they did or what business they were in,” Comer added.
However, Democrats took turns mocking the GOP progress.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) created a Top 10 list of the reasons the GOP impeachment inquiry is dead, complete with a chart showing a flatlining heartbeat.
“At what point are you going to fish or cut bait? So I just have to tell you, it’s over. Impeachment is over. Donezo, bye bye, rigor mortis, lights out, curtain drop, mic drop, peace, adios, sayonara, do svidaniya, a language y’all know,” Swalwell said, seeking to connect to GOP to Russia
And Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) jokingly moved to kick off an impeachment vote during the hearing, suggesting that Republicans were reticent to do so.
“They are never going to impeach Joe Biden. It is never going to happen. They don’t have the evidence. This is a show. It is all fake,” Moskowitz said.
“If these hearings were a success, if what we have been doing the last 15 months had convinced the American people that Joe Biden committed a high crime and misdemeanor, you can be sure they would’ve called the vote by now.”
