JUST IN: House Schedules First Biden Impeachment Hearing; Here’s What We Know

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is moving up the timeline for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, a move that gives the White House little time to prepare a defense, should it choose to participate at all, for proceedings that will highlight the president’s likely involvement in business activities conducted by his son which later led to criminal tax charges.

Speaker McCarthy (R-CA) on Tuesday said he has set a date of September 28th for opening statements in an impeachment hearing that has rocked Washington since the Republican leader caved to demands from conservatives that President Biden be held accountable for lobbying efforts by Hunter Biden and associates. Despite the president’s steadfast refusal that he was aware of or participated in business dealings with foreign actors, several of McCarthy’s top deputies have spent months digging into financial and meeting records that have linked Biden to dozens of interactions during his time as vice president.

The first hearing will be held by the House Oversight Committee where its chair, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), has obtained bank records tracing how millions of dollars were funneled through a network of shell companies to enrich up to nine members of the Biden clan. A committee spokesperson told the Daily Caller that it intends to drag Hunter, who continues to face charges, in for testimony.

“The House Oversight Committee will hold its first hearing on the impeachment inquiry next Thursday, September 28,” a spokesperson for the committee told the DCNF in a statement. “The hearing will focus on constitutional and legal questions surrounding the President’s involvement in corruption and abuse of public office. The Committee also intends to subpoena Hunter and James Biden’s personal and business bank records as early as this week. The Oversight Committee will continue to follow the evidence and money trail to provide the transparency and accountability that Americans demand from their government.”

A future date will likely be set for a hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) who has grilled the FBI and IRS over alleged preferential treatment given to Hunter during investigations into tax and gun charges. Jordan has cited testimony by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley saying that the Justice Department originally intended to drop all charges and prevented his team from investigating leads that could have implicated President Biden.

The White House drew sharp criticism last week for releasing a memo to mainstream media outlets calling on them to fact-check Republicans’ claims that President Biden knew about activities by Hunter which later led to criminal charges. Karine Jean-Pierre has also moved the goalposts in statements by the White House in the months since the president was implicated, first saying he never discussed business activities with his embattled son, and just weeks later claiming he never participated in those activities. The change in semantics has led to testy encounters in the White House Briefing Room.