WASHINGTON: The US House of Represen­tatives voted on Wednes­day to formalise an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, escalating Republicans’ battle with Democrats ahead of the 2024 election in a move Biden himself slammed as a “baseless” stunt.

Republicans, seizing on Biden’s son Hunter’s controversial international dealings, have yet to provide evidence of corruption by the president, and the Democratic-led Senate would be unlikely to convict him even if the inquiry did lead to an actual impeachment trial.

Regardless, the procedure guarantees Republicans a new, high-profile platform to attack Biden as he campaigns for reelection — and to distract from the federal criminal trials facing his almost certain challenger Donald Trump.

The vote of 221 to 212 was along strict party lines, with every Republi­can voting for it and every Democrat against.

Conservatives accuse Biden’s troubled son Hunter of influence-peddling — effectively trading on the family name in pay-to-play schemes during his business dealings in Ukraine and China.

The allegations against Hunter Biden refer to incidents that took place before his father became president, and the White House has stressed there has been no wrongdoing.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2023