Everything to know about the House’s impeachment inquiry vote on Biden

House lawmakers voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Wednesday, a move that Republican congressional investigators say will allow them to collect more information related to the commander in chief’s alleged involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. 

The vote to formally authorize the probe comes three months and a day after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif,) ordered three GOP-led panels – the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees – to ramp-up evidence-gathering efforts and make the case to the American public of whether or not Biden, 81, improperly used his position as Barack Obama’s vice president to enrich himself and his family. 

What is an impeachment inquiry?

An impeachment inquiry is an investigation into possible wrongdoing by a federal official, such as the president, a Cabinet member or a judge. 

The evidence-gathering process can include public hearings, depositions held behind closed doors and subpoenas issued to companies, government agencies and officials for information and documents. 

The Constitution grants the House of Representatives sole power to conduct the inquiry and decide whether or not to ultimately level articles of impeachment against the official being probed. 

Why are House Republicans formalizing Biden’s impeachment inquiry? 

Several House Republicans have argued that by formalizing the inquiry, the chairmen of the three committees handling the investigation into Biden’s conduct will gain more power to compel interviews, obtain documents and further the case that the president improperly benefitted from his son’s overseas deals. 

GOP lawmakers have already issued an array of demands to executive branch agencies and the president’s son related to the probe, but argue that the Biden administration and Hunter Biden have so far done nothing but obstruct the investigation. 

Earlier this month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer told colleagues that his panel has received just 14 out of about 82,000 pages of Biden’s vice presidential emails known to exist.

Comer also accused the president of repeatedly lying about his contacts with his relatives’ business associates, as well as about his family’s income from China, and said the White House has not complied with requests to interview an array of current and former officials.

Hunter Biden defied a House GOP subpoena requiring him to provide investigators with a private deposition on Wednesday, opting instead to hold a press conference outside the US Capitol and demand a public hearing. 

The White House has challenged numerous congressional requests, arguing that the full House must “authorize an impeachment inquiry before a committee may utilize compulsory process pursuant to the impeachment power.”

Proponents of formalizing the inquiry say that Wednesday’s floor vote strengthens their legal standing against the White House and will make it easier to secure subpoenas and witness testimony related to the probe. 

Does this mean Biden will be impeached? 

Not necessarily, but recent history suggests that he will face impeachment. 

House Democrats formalized their impeachment inquiry into former President Donald Trump weeks after launching the probe into his infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Articles of impeachment against Trump were approved by the full House less than three months after the inquiry was formalized. 

Democrats did not conduct an official inquiry before voting to impeach Trump a second time, in the final days of his presidency, for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol. 

Former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment inquiry, stemming from sexual harassment lawsuit, was formally authorized in October of 1998 and led to articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice and perjury being approved in December of that year. 

Impeachment trials are conducted in the Senate and are presided over by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. 

How long will the inquiry take?

There are no set rules on how long an impeachment inquiry can or must last.

The only real deadline is Jan. 3, 2025, when the 118th Congress ends its final legislative session.