Fri, 29 Sep 2023

WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. Republicans in the House of Representatives have doubled down on using their new power to investigate the Biden administration and, most notably, the president's son, Hunter Biden, despite their thin House majority.

"If you look back, we picked up seats in New York, New Jersey, California. These were not voters coming to the polls because they wanted Hunter Biden investigated, far from it. They were coming to the polls because they were upset about inflation. They're upset about gas prices. They're upset about what's going on with the war in Ukraine," said Mike DuHaime, a Republican strategist and public affairs executive, as quoted by Reuters.

However, House Republicans used their first news conference after gaining the House majority to discuss presidential son Hunter Biden and the Justice Department.

This week, Republican legislators promised to release new information, but have only presented a condensed review of years' worth of complaints about Hunter Biden's business dealings, going back to conspiracy theories raised by former president Donald Trump.

Hunter Biden joined the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma in 2014, when his father and then-vice president was helping conduct the Obama administration's foreign policy with Ukraine. Senate Republicans claimed the appointment posed a conflict of interest.

For the past year, Republican lawmakers and their staff have been analyzing messages and financial transactions found on Hunter Biden's laptop.

After winning the House, Republicans now have subpoena power to follow through on their investigations.

"The Republicans are going to go ahead. I think their members are enthusiastic about going after this stuff, there are a lot of unanswered questions. Look, the 40-year trend is parties under-investigate their own and over-investigate the other party. It did not start here," said Tom Davis, a Republican lawyer who specializes in congressional investigations and legislative strategy, as quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed the GOP focus on investigations, saying "They said they were going to fight inflation, they said they were going to make that a priority, then they get the majority and their top priority is actually not focusing on the American family, but focusing on the president's family," she said.

Hunter Biden's taxes and foreign business connections have been under federal investigation, with a grand jury in Delaware recently hearing testimony.

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