# "House to start an impeachment inquiry into President Biden" **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 12, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995 "2023-09-12T16:17:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/121 "2023-09-16T10:37:19Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > enormous motive to zotz him immediately “Zotz” - wonderfully useful word that I haven’t seen used since 10-year old me tried to figure out why my parent’s Book-of-the-Month club selection had cartoons but didn’t seem funny… ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/122 "2023-09-16T10:40:26Z")
None of that is specific. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/123 "2023-09-16T15:23:47Z")
I’m guessing Jim Jordan is the back-up quarterback. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/124 "2023-09-16T15:31:33Z")
What part of “based on nothing” is confusing? To clarify; when Trump was first impeached it was for abusing his position to extort Ukraine for dirt about Biden. Now, if that was a rumor and there was no evidence that any of it ever happened, you might not be able to be more specific. Maybe you couldn’t say who he talked to, or when, or what was promised. But you still had something to claim an impeachment for, however baseless or flimsy. That’s what the Republicans are doing now, or at least trying to get an inquiry in to fill in the details. Of course, the Democrats actually had evidence. They had a recording. They could be specific because they were impeaching based on something that actually happened. But once again, the Republicans do have an accusation, they’re not trying to impeach without a reason. They just don’t have a **legitimate** reason. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2023, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/125 "2023-09-16T15:40:45Z")
Some people still seem to think that the GOP needs at least a fig leaf of “substance” to be doing these things. They need to start understanding that the GOP really, truly, is now acting on the basis of nothing. This whole process, and so much more, is nothing more than a naked exercise of power, for entirely petty and partisan reasons. They’re doing it because they _can_ do it, and no one can stop them. This is the new normal, but lots of people don’t want to come to terms with that. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/126 "2023-09-17T01:36:10Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > This whole process, and so much more, is nothing more than a naked exercise of power, for entirely petty and partisan reasons. I think that is true to an extent, but it’s mostly petty tit-for-tat. Their guy got impeached so theire gonna impeach our guy. It’s been planned since their guy was impeached. Their guy gets indicted, so they’re going after someone on our side to indict (Hunter Biden). The fact that their guy actually broke laws in public for all of us to see and hear makes no difference - they have no platform or strategy for governing any more, so all they have is hitting back at the other guy. They live in the sewer, so they’re gonna drag everyone down there, too. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/127 "2023-09-17T01:49:15Z")
The banks notified the irs over 170 times of suspicious money laundering. Over 20,000,000 in payout has been identified so far and they have barely scratched the surface. This goes way deeper than Joe Biden or even liberal leaning people in the IRS, DOJ and FBI. I am puzzled as to why any of you would not want this looked at? Critical thinking would demand more answers. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/128 "2023-09-17T02:10:40Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I am puzzled as to why any of you would not want this looked at? Please quote one person on this board who said that they didn’t support the IRS investigating Hunter Biden’s failure to pay his taxes. Just one. If you can’t find that then you’ve answered your own silly question. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/129 "2023-09-17T02:15:36Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > f you can’t find that then you’ve answered your own silly question. I am not talking about Hunter Biden. I won’t comment anymore here. I will just wait and see like the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/130 "2023-09-17T02:17:32Z")
What on earth are you talking about? Critical thinking would demand more answers. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/131 "2023-09-17T02:41:12Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > The banks notified the irs over 170 times of suspicious money laundering. Over 20,000,000 in payout has been identified so far and they have barely scratched the surface. None of which went to _Joe_ Biden. This is not about Hunter Biden, who appears to be a criminal, at least for minor crimes. This is about The President. Note that unlike trump, Joe did not give his son any positions. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/132 "2023-09-17T02:46:18Z")
Biden crime family. I mean this is the Freedom Caucus were talking about. Feel free to also use communist Biden crime family. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/133 "2023-09-17T04:13:24Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I am not talking about Hunter Biden. I’m sorry, I thought you were talking about something that we have any evidence or even vague signs of actually happening. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/134 "2023-09-17T05:26:44Z")
It appears he’s talking about two allegations made by Congressman Comer. The first one was last fall, before the elections. Comer said in an interview that there had been around 130 bank reports of potentially suspicious transactions. Comer then jumped to an assertion that means the banks are reporting criminal activity, but the FBI did nothing. This article, however, rebuts that Comer-jump. > [@](#): > > As a result, FinCEN expects to receive nearly 3.7 million SARs in fiscal 2023, according to a Treasury report submitted to Congress. > > Under Comer’s logic, that would suggest banks will report 3.7 million crimes. But that’s not correct. > > “A financial institution only had to say ‘something doesn’t look right about this’ using the FinCEN guidance,” said James E. Johnson, Treasury undersecretary for enforcement in the late 1990s who oversaw FinCEN. “That is well short of, ‘I think a crime has been committed.’ ” > > Another former Treasury official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the political nature of Comer’s comments, described SARs reports as merely “a tip.” He noted that the threshold for filing a SAR is not especially high and that many banks file the reports just to be on the safe side. “There is an incentive that, when in doubt, to file a report,” he said. > … > In a 2018 report, BPI said a survey found that only about 4 percent of SARs that were filed in 2017 led to a law enforcement inquiry — an estimate that the former Treasury official said sounded accurate. “A tiny subset of these results in an arrest and ultimately a conviction,” the group says. If a bank concludes a SAR reflects actual criminal behavior, as opposed to suspicion, “someone at the bank will call law enforcement directly to flag the SAR.” So, 150 bank tips out of approximately 3,700,000 per year. Sure, maybe something may come of it, but odds sound low that there’s much there. I imagine @DrDeth may be able to comment. Here’s the WaPo fact-checking article: > **[Analysis | The misleading claim that bank reports show Hunter Biden...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/19/misleading-claim-that-bank-reports-show-hunter-biden-committed-serious-crimes/)** > > Suspicious activity reports filed by banks are akin to an informant's tip — which must be further verified. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/135 "2023-09-17T05:32:59Z")
The $20 million is more recent. It comes from documents released by the House committee this summer: > [@](#): > > House Republicans last week put out the latest batch of bank documents alleging that Hunter Biden and others he worked with made over $20 million from foreign business deals after his father was first elected vice president in 2008. > > “During Joe Biden’s vice presidency, Hunter Biden sold him as ‘the brand’ to reap millions from oligarchs in Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine,” House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said last week. “It appears no real services were provided other than access to the Biden network, including Joe Biden himself. And Hunter Biden seems to have delivered.” > > ## **No evidence so far that President Biden profited** > > Republicans have so far[failed to deliver](https://news.yahoo.com/devon-archer-testimony-what-hunter-bidens-business-partner-actually-told-congress-193852443.html) on their biggest claims. They have not shown that U.S. government decisions were altered to benefit the Biden family, or that President Biden may have received bribes, or that there are direct links between the older Biden and Hunter Biden’s business deals, discussions or payments. So, the GOP members of the committee are alleging that Hunter Biden made money off his father’s name, but no evidence has been released that suggests a crime was committed, or that Joe Biden was involved or earned any money. > **[Hunter Biden: What we know of his overseas business dealings](https://news.yahoo.com/hunter-biden-what-we-know-of-his-overseas-business-dealings-185336922.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNhLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACgEJ4auIIHDQCq9BLo3leXCtJSvBqcbZhBKxDts2oxgRDh6oBk5kA0mdVQGNQz7e4dkFBVjhwIcF-cqa0bHG9lMtCQ1J9YFn7sTZNWtH2I0W2K5mzz7I_HA9NVCRolPpRj3IuJQwhIWdm32oXTB87dp8v9IpMSvxxebSSeA9G0k)** > > The president’s son and business partners made over $20 million from foreign business deals since Joe Biden was first elected vice president in 2008, the GOP alleges. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/136 "2023-09-17T05:36:33Z")
Finally, I don’t see anyone here saying Hunter or Joe shouldn’t be investigated if there is any evidence of a crime, contrary to @HoneyBadgerDC ’s comments. Rather, so far, Comer seems to be over-selling and under-delivering. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/137 "2023-09-17T05:43:23Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I am puzzled as to why any of you would not want this looked at? All of this stuff has been looked at. All of it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/138 "2023-09-17T05:52:00Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I imagine @DrDeth may be able to comment. Yes. They are evidence that the bank thought something was suspicious enough that they wanted to report it- often just to cover their asses. They are not evidence of wrongdoing. They are simply a tool that can (but rarely does) lead to an investigation. Mind you, they could have been used as part of the Hunter Failure to Pay Tax investigation. But AFAIK, Joe Biden has not been the subject of a bunch of SARs. SARs in of themselves are confidential. The Financial institution may not tell the customer that they issued a SAR. Hunter may well have profited from using his father’s name. Billy did the same with Carter. Maureen Reagan. Bush jr. And of course, trump jr, Ivanka, and Eric- > **[How Donald Trump's Kids Have Profited Off Their Dad's Presidency](https://www.gq.com/story/trump-kids-profit-presidency)** > > No one knows a “clear conflict of interest” when they see it better than the president's children. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/139 "2023-09-17T11:10:34Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > > [@Atamasama](#): > > > > f you can’t find that then you’ve answered your own silly question. > > I am not talking about Hunter Biden. I won’t comment anymore here. I will just wait and see like the rest of us. You’ll just wait because the Republicans haven’t presented a shred of evidence, not a single piece, that suggests Joe Biden was involved in any wrongdoing. Absolutely nothing. Wherever you’re getting your information from is lying to you. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995/140 "2023-09-17T13:39:34Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Over 20,000,000 in payout has been identified so far and they have barely scratched the surface You **have nothing**. You can’t even plausibly offer up a scandal. Oh, no! Somebody made **millions**? And it even came from **foreigners**!! Geez, I’m surprised that Joe Biden hasn’t been shot for treason at this point. (Adding to the absurdity is the fact that once a politician leaves office, especially if they’ve served 8 years as Veep, they can easily earn a legitimate fortune from speeches and book deals. If Biden wanted to bring in millions of dollars, all he had to do was go on a speaking tour. This scandal is like trying to tell me that Michael Jordan had a secret arrangement in the 1990s to get free basketball shoes). This bullshit reminds me of civil forfeiture cases, when the government finds a person with a large sum of cash in their possession, and seizes it on the theory that it’s probably evidence of some criminality. I mean, sure, it’s legal to have cash in your possession, but we all really know what carrying cash _really_ means. Now prove your innocence! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-to-start-an-impeachment-inquiry-into-president-biden/989995.md?page=8)