US House to vote on formalising Biden impeachment inquiry

The Republican-led US House of Representatives is moving forward with a vote to formalise an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Members will vote later on Wednesday on the resolution, which Republicans say will give them greater powers to gather evidence and enforce legal demands.

Three Republican-led House committees allege bribery and corruption during Mr Biden's tenure as vice-president.

He denies wrongdoing and the committees are yet to produce any evidence.

In an animated debate over the impeachment resolution on Wednesday, Democrats expressed irritation over what they have dismissed as "an extreme political stunt".

Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin said the probe, which began in September, "isn't a whodunit, it's a what is it".

"It's like an Agatha Christie novel, where the mystery is - what's the crime?" he added.

Republican Tom Cole, who kicked off the debate. said Republicans had been left with no choice but to bring the vote.

He said it was a "sad day for myself, the institution and the American people" and accused the White House of "stonewalling" the impeachment inquiry.

Ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched the inquiry in September claiming Republicans had unearthed a "culture of corruption" surrounding Mr Biden.

Republicans have held one hearing related to the inquiry, during which two expert witnesses called by Republicans said there was not yet enough evidence to impeach the Democratic president.

The oversight committee claims the Biden family and its business associates received more than $24m (£19m) from foreign sources in China, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia and Ukraine between 2014 and 2019.

The White House has described the probe as a "baseless stunt" and an abuse of power by House Republicans.