Republicans in the new House majority have announced plan to investigate Team Biden on at least five fronts, ranging from Dr. Anthony Fauci's alleged role in the origins of Covid, to Hunter Biden’s laptop, to the disaster at the southern border.
The unanswered question is: What will come of those hearings if the U.S. Department of Justice is complicit in the illegal activity brought to light?
Response to Covid outbreak
Investigating the origin of Covid and the U.S. response led by Fauci sits near the top of Republicans’ list of priorities for 2023. Fauci retired last month.
“While I’m sure your retirement will comprise maskless baseball games, more photo shoots, a Netflix documentary, & probably a contributorship on CNN — retirement from the govt’ does NOT mean you’ll get off scot-free,” Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds tweeted. “The @HouseGOP has A LOT of questions, be ready to answer them.”
In November, Fauci was deposed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry regarding the censorship of those on social media questioning the government's narrative on the pandemic. According to Landry, “over the course of seven hours, we discovered that he can’t recall practically anything dealing with his Covid response.”
Republicans have long criticized Fauci for his response to the pandemic and his role in gain-of-function research at the Wuhan, China lab where the virus likely originated.
“In January, a GOP Congress should hold Fauci fully accountable for his dishonesty, corruption, abuse of power, and multiple lies under oath,” said Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who has also accused Fauci of lying before Congress. “Never in our nation’s history has one arrogant bureaucrat destroyed more people’s lives.”
GOP lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have already opened their own investigation into the origins of Covid, requesting “an independent, expert investigation,” according to a letter sent to then-National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins. Republicans on that committee have since called on the NIH to preserve all records and communications related to the pandemic for review early next year, criticizing the agency for failing to respond to earlier requests for information.
Hunter Biden's 'laptop from hell'
Republicans have been seeking to advance their investigation into Biden family corruption for months, particularly after obtaining a copy of the Hunter Biden laptop hard drive. The GOP is expected to focus mostly on Biden family business dealings to determine whether Joe Biden has knowingly benefited from his son’s financial deals.
Hunter Biden's financial affairs, including business dealings tied to countries such as Ukraine, China, and Russia, are under scrutiny in a federal criminal investigation.
Joe Biden has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and his campaign told reporters in 2020 that he “has never even considered being involved in business with his family, nor in any overseas business whatsoever.”
Alejandro Mayorkas and the southern border
Republicans are demanding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials preserve documents pertaining to the border, with some GOP lawmakers considering impeaching DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
U.S. border officials encountered more than 2 million immigrants at the southern border during fiscal 2022, an increase from 1.7 million encounters the year before.
The House Judiciary Committee has already notified Mayorkas they will be seeking his testimony early into the new Congress, as well as the testimony of 10 other DHS officials.
Merrick Garland and the DOJ
In a letter sent to the Department of Justice, House Republicans informed Garland they would be seeking the testimony of 15 officials.
The testimony is likely to be in reference to the DOJ’s handling of its investigations into Donald Trump. Republicans have accused the Garland and the DOJ of being politically biased against the former president and investigations are expected to focus on the raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, during which the FBI and DOJ say they obtained several boxes of classified White House documents.
Joe Biden's surrender in Afghanistan
One of the first investigations Republicans are expected to open is related to Team Biden's disgraceful surrender to the Taliban in Afghanistan in September 2021. More than 12,000 people were airlifted out of the country as the Taliban quickly seized control of the government. The operation has been heavily scrutinized, particularly after a suicide attack outside the Kabul airport left 13 Americans and roughly 200 Afghans dead.
Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent letters to a number of government agencies requesting documentation and other materials related to the troop withdrawal, accusing the Biden administration of committing obstruction. Comer has sent letters to the State Department, the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) requesting internal communications or any related information about the planning of the September 2021 troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Oversight Committee is particularly interested in investigating the decision to conduct airlifts out of the Hamid Karzai International Airport and to permit the Taliban to be responsible for the airport’s security. Lawmakers will also investigate the lack of planning to help relocate refugees who were taken out of Afghanistan.
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