Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) condemned some of House Republicans’ latest investigative efforts targeting the Bidens after the House Oversight Committee, where Raskin is a member, held a transcribed interview this week with Devon Archer. Archer is a past business associate of Hunter Biden and, according to Democrats, left key claims from the GOP without substantiation.
“Now, Hunter Biden’s own business partner has stated that: President Biden was not involved in his son’s business affairs, and that President Biden was never asked to, nor did he, take any official actions in relation to those business matters,” Raskin said.
Claims that the current president was substantially — and corruptly — connected to business dealings conducted by his son, Hunter, extend back to the 2020 presidential race between the older Biden and Trump, the latter of whom raised allegations about these ties on the debate stage. More recently, Republicans have promoted the claims found in an official document held by the FBI that outlines an allegation of Joe and Hunter Biden receiving millions of dollars in bribes — and according to Raskin, Archer discredited those claims as well.
The claims themselves are not new, and Democrats have repeatedly pointed to the Trump era Justice Department having had access to the allegations without any prosecuting action being undertaken. “Today, Mr. Archer explicitly stated that he is unaware of any $5 million payments to the Bidens and did not believe the allegations of bribery in the FBI Form 1023 were credible, thus debunking the unverified tip sheet Republicans released last week,” Raskin said in prepared comments.
As other Democrats have also done, Raskin also characterized Republicans’ actions as essentially meant to distract from the mounting legal troubles facing former President Donald Trump, the current front-runner for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination for 2024. He remains expected to face multiple new criminal cases in the near future. Meanwhile, Republicans are expected to continue pursuing the potential impeachment of President Joe Biden and others, though the Senate majority necessary for a subsequent removal from office is generally not expected.
