How Biden has upper hand over Republicans who want him impeached: report

12 September 2023

Ex-President Donald Trump's administration made a move that gives President Joe Biden the upper hand, according to Politico, amid House Republicans' impeachment inquiry against him, which House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) officially opened Tuesday.

Per Politico, the United States Department of Justice legal counsel issued an opinion in January 2020 that "formally declared that impeachment inquiries by the House are invalid unless the chamber takes formal votes to authorize them."

United States Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel Steve Engel said, "[W]e conclude that the House must expressly authorize a committee to conduct an impeachment investigation and to use compulsory process in that investigation before the committee may compel the production of documents or testimony. The House had not authorized such an investigation in connection with the impeachment-related subpoenas issued before October 31, 2019, and the subpoenas therefore had no compulsory effect."

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The Washington Post reports that also on Tuesday, the Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) official over House GOP members' investigation into Biden's son, Hunter Biden, "disputed whistleblower claims that the prosecutor in charge of the probe was stymied by the" United State's Department of Justice.

The dispute was found in a transcript obtained by The Post "of an interview with lawmakers that took place last week."

The Postreports:

The interview transcript obtained by The Post pushed back on some of those claims, specifically that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss told investigators he did not have authority to bring certain criminal chargesagainst the president's son. But Thomas Sobocinski, who manages the FBI team involved in the investigation, agreed with the IRS whistleblowers that Weiss had moved slowly in making a charging decision.

Politico's full report is available at this link. The Washington Post's report is here (subscription required).

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