US Republicans say Joe Biden committed impeachable offences

US House of Representatives Republicans have issued a report alleging Democratic President Joe Biden committed impeachable offences, but it is unclear whether they will push for a vote following a probe the White House has long dismissed as politically motivated.

A 291-page report by three House committees alleges Biden profited from an influence-peddling scheme to enrich himself and members of his family through foreign business dealings beginning in 2014 when Biden was vice president.

“The committees present this information to the House of Representatives for its evaluation and consideration of appropriate next steps,” the report released on Monday says.

It was not clear if Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson would schedule a vote to impeach Biden in the weeks leading up to the November 5 election, in which Republican Donald Trump is locked in a tight battle with Vice-President Kamala Harris.

Even if the Republican-controlled House were to pass such a measure, it would be unlikely to remove Biden from office, given that he would need to be convicted by a Senate controlled 51-49 by his own Democratic Party. Biden, who withdrew his own re-election bid in July, is due to leave office when his successor is sworn in on January 20.

A similar House impeachment against Biden’s top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, was put to a swift end by the Senate in April.

The House investigators claim Biden used his influence to benefit the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, with partners from Ukraine, China, Russia and other countries.

Hunter Biden has been convicted on charges that he lied about his illegal drug use to buy a gun and is awaiting trial on charges of tax evasion, including an allegation he accepted payments from a Romanian businessman who sought to influence US government agencies in connection with a criminal probe in Romania.

The impeachment inquiry, which lawmakers formally authorised in December and has been carried out by the House oversight, judiciary and ways and means committees, has been criticised by members of both parties for failing to produce hard evidence of wrongdoing by Biden.

Democrats have disparaged the effort as retribution for Trump, who was impeached twice by a Democratic-controlled House and acquitted each time by the Senate.

The first impeachment alleged that Trump pressured Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help smear Joe Biden in return for US aid.