Rounding out a week in which House Republicans teased a potential advancement of their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, the White House on Friday went on the offensive with its own messaging campaign, beating back claims it is “stonewalling” the investigation. 

What You Need To Know

  • The White House on Friday beat back on claims it is “stonewalling” the House GOP's impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden 
  • In a memo that circulated Friday morning, White House Oversight Spokesperson Ian Sams said House Republicans are “trying to invent claims of ‘obstruction’ and ‘stonewalling’ to rationalize their illegitimate so-called ‘impeachment inquiry"
  • The memo went on to list the documents and information the White House says House GOP members have had access to in their probe of the president
  • This week, the GOP in the lower chamber signaled they were pushing full-force ahead with their impeachment inquiry into the president, announcing in a press conference on Wednesday they were launching a website on the probe and surging ahead with efforts to interview witnesses

In a memo that circulated Friday morning, White House oversight spokesman Ian Sams accused House Republicans of “trying to invent claims of ‘obstruction’ and ‘stonewalling’ to rationalize their illegitimate so-called ‘impeachment inquiry.’”

“Some House Republicans are even leaning on these false claims as a predicate to vote to formally authorize such an inquiry,” Sams continued. “The problem: Claims of ‘obstruction’ and ‘stonewalling’ are easily refuted by the facts.”

The memo went on to list the documents and information the White House says House GOP members have had access to in their probe of the president and the Biden family’s business dealings, including more than 35,000 pages of financial records, 2,000 pages of Treasury Department financial reports and thousands of records from the National Archives from when Biden served as vice president. 

In terms of witness interviews, Sams points out House Republicans have received testimony from David Weiss, the Justice Department-appointed special counsel overseeing the investigation into the president’s son Hunter Biden along with Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Chris Wray, former business associates of Hunter Biden and others. 

“Despite receiving this significant volume of material, House Republicans have just failed to turn up any evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden – but plenty of evidence debunking their claims,” Sams wrote. 

He also pointed to an interview Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee – one of the three panels tasked with overseeing the GOP’s impeachment probe – did with Fox Business in June in which Sams said Comer “bragged on TV” about all of the documents they have received. 

“Every subpoena that I have signed as chairman of the House Oversight Committee over the last five months, we’ve gotten 100% of what we’ve requested, whether it's with the FBI or with banks or with Treasury,” Comer said in the June interview. 

The memo also made its own assertion about lack of communication, arguing that House Republicans were the ones failing to communicate. 

“For months, the White House has sent letters to Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan offering to meet or talk further about informational needs, yet Comer and Jordan have repeatedly refused to engage,” Sams wrote. 

This week, the GOP in the lower chamber signaled they were pushing full-force ahead with their impeachment inquiry into the president, announcing in a press conference on Wednesday they were launching a website on the probe and surging ahead with efforts to interview witnesses. Leadership also accused the White House of holding back information. 

“What are they trying to hide at the White House? Why won’t the White House fully comply?” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said. 

During a closed-door House GOP meeting on Wednesday morning and in what could be seen as a significant advancement of their efforts, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told colleagues that the House could vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry into the president in the coming weeks, a source familiar confirmed to Spectrum News. 

House Republicans have been investigating the Biden family and its international business dealings for months but have yet to show evidence directly linking President Biden to wrongdoing or proving Hunter Biden influenced his father’s decisions in office. 

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., launched the impeachment probe into the president in September without sending the inquiry to the House floor for a vote. Such a vote could put Republicans representing districts Biden won in 2020 in a tricky spot. 

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., similarly announced the first impeachment inquiry into former President Donald Trump about a month before the House voted to formalize it. 

In what could be considered the most aggressive action since the start of the inquiry, in November, Comer issued subpoenas to Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden, requiring them to sit for a deposition in mid-December. 

On Tuesday, Hunter Biden offered to testify publicly on Dec. 13, the date outlined in the subpoena, or another day in December instead, arguing closed-door testimony can be manipulated. Comer and House Republicans are insisting Biden participate in the private deposition first before the possibility of public testimony. 

“This impeachment stunt is illegitimate, based on nothing, and shows that extreme House Republicans are willing to stop at nothing to smear the President despite failing to have the facts on their side,” Friday’s memo concluded.