President Biden on Wednesday brushed off plans by House Republicans to investigate his family members, arguing the public will not care.
The president sat for an interview with PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff, who asked about the House GOP’s plans to use its new majority to probe his son, Hunter Biden, and potentially the finances of his brother, James Biden.
“The public’s not going to pay attention to that,” Biden said. “They want these guys to do something. If the only thing they can do is make up things about my family, it’s not going to go very far.”
House Republicans have long telegraphed their intentions to investigate the president’s family, accusing Biden’s son and brother of using the family name to gain influence and wealth.
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s website features a landing page titled “Biden Family Investigation” that lays out how Chairman James Comer (Ky.) and other Republicans “are investigating the Biden family’s domestic and international business dealings to determine whether these activities compromise U.S. national security and President Biden’s ability to lead with impartiality.”
The committee held a hearing on Wednesday with former Twitter executives about the suppression of a New York Post story before the 2020 election about Hunter Biden’s laptop and its contents.
The White House dismissed that hearing as a “bizarre political stunt,” and Democrats argued that the American people would rather see lawmakers focus on issues that matter.
Biden has defended his family whenever asked about GOP allegations of corruption, saying he is proud of his son, Hunter, who has fought addiction, and denied any wrongdoing.