And himself. When mafia dons direct payments to be made to their family members instead of themselves, they're not just being generous. That's their money and everyone knows it; they just can't admit its theirs because they'd be arrested if they did.
The Republican-led House committees leading the impeachment probe into Joe Biden concluded Monday the president engaged in impeachable conduct by helping to enrich his family with millions of dollars in business schemes that traded on his name and then defrauded voters by lying to cover up the scandal.
The House Oversight, Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees said they believe the evidence from their nine-month investigation establishes that Biden abused his office and violated his oaths under the Constitution, according to the 291-page report reviewed by Just the News.
"First and foremost, overwhelming evidence demonstrates that President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family," the committee's concluded in the the report released the day Biden was to be honored at the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
"Among other aspects of this conspiracy, the Biden family and their business associates received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden," the executive summary added.
The report puts a finishing touch on a scandal that began in 2019 during the advent of the last presidential election, but it is unlikely to result in a formal impeachment since Biden has stepped down and handed over the reins of the Democratic Party to his vice president, Kamala Harris.
The committee cited evidence that Biden "actively participated" in an influence-peddling conspiracy by attending dinners with his family's foreign associates and speaking to them over the phone. These interactions were documented by email evidence and testimony from several of Hunter Biden's ex-business partners, including Devon Archer and Jason Galanis.
The committees also said evidence shows Hunter Biden used his father's official position as vice president to "garner favorable outcomes in foreign business dealings and legal proceedings."
Beyond Biden's conduct as vice president, the report argued the Justice Department during his presidency deviated from normal practices in order to provide favorable treatment to Hunter Biden, throwing up roadblocks in the investigation and preventing attorneys from pursuing certain avenues of inquiry, as two IRS whistleblowers testified to the House Ways and Means Committee.
The president also engaged in a coverup himself by lying about his and his family's conduct, the report alleged.
"President Joe Biden conspired to commit influence peddling and grift," the committees wrote. "In doing so, he abused his office and, by repeatedly lying about his abuse of office, has defrauded the United States to enrich his family."
Here are the most important findings of the impeachment investigation:
Biden family received more than $27 million from foreign sources
The committee's investigation found Hunter Biden and other family members received over $27 million from foreign sources. These funds were often obscured in "shell companies" to hide their true origins, the committee says. Some of the funds sent from China, for example, ended up directly in Joe Biden's bank account.
As part of the $27 million, Hunter Biden received significant compensation from several foreign ventures and positions.
For example, his role on the board of directors of the embattled Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, whose owner Mykola Zlochevksy was facing corruption allegations in Ukraine. Biden received a $1 million a year salary for his role on the board.
After receiving that position he would use his influence in Washington, D.C. to help organize a public relations campaign for the company and work to shut down the corruption investigation into Zlochevsky, even meeting personally with State Department officials.
In another instance, Hunter Biden received a $5 million loan in 2017 from entities connected to the energy firm CEFC China Energy. Just the News reported in 2022 that Hunter Biden had received this $5 million "interest free," forgivable loan. Emails from Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop showed that the loan was intended to benefit the Biden family, referred to as the "BD family."
However, the report admits it cannot establish a "clear quid pro quo" linking the payments to Biden family members to specific actions taken by Biden in exchange for those payments. The report argues, however, that this kind of clear quid pro quo is unnecessary for impeachment -- the Democrats said so when they impeached Trump.
President Biden's participation in this conspiracy to enrich his family constitutes impeachable conduct. By monetizing the Vice Presidency for his family's benefit, he abused his office of public trust, placing the welfare of his family ahead of the welfare of the United States. He also put foreign interests ahead of the interests of the American people. Indeed, precedent set by House Democrats in 2019 in their impeachment of President Donald J. Trump establishes that "abuse of office," defined as the exercise of "official power to obtain an improper personal benefit, while ignoring or injuring the national interest," is an impeachable offense.
Hello, everyone. Happy Monday, or, as the ancient Greeks called it, "My Lucky Bun-Day."