Relatives used Joe Biden’s name to achieve deals worth millions of dollars, says the Wall Street Journal

 President Joe Biden built his political identity around his working-class background during a five-decade-long career in public office.

However, a recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal has revealed that various members of his family, beyond his son Hunter Biden, have leveraged the Biden name to advance their business interests, resulting in deals worth millions of dollars.

This practice has come under scrutiny as it raises questions about whether these family members unfairly profited from Joe Biden's political influence. The investigation has prompted a House Republican impeachment inquiry, examining whether the president himself benefited from or played a role in these financial ventures.  

While the examination did not uncover evidence of direct personal gain for Joe Biden, it did reveal instances where he was more involved in his family's business dealings than previously acknowledged. For example, the president was occasionally present in business calls involving his brother James Biden and Hunter Biden.

The investigation highlights several deals that capitalized on the Biden name, such as a venture with a healthcare company in which James Biden promised expansion based on Joe Biden's influence with unions and government agencies.

In another instance, James Biden was an executive in a firm aiming to build 100,000 homes in Iraq while Joe Biden held the vice presidency.

In some cases, family members engaged in conventional name-dropping. In others, they aimed to build relationships with business figures seeking to evade regulatory scrutiny, particularly in Ukraine and China.

The investigation also delves into Hunter Biden's involvement in business dealings in Ukraine and China, where he received substantial payments for access to the "Biden brand."

For instance, he served on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, receiving significant compensation. Additionally, bank records show wire transfers to Hunter Biden from a Chinese private equity firm called BHR, raising questions about his financial relationship with the company.

Despite these revelations, Joe Biden maintains that he never discussed business matters with his family members, emphasizing that he only engaged in pleasantries during their conversations. The White House and Democrats have criticized the impeachment inquiry as a political maneuver to tarnish the president's reputation unfairly.

Nearly half of American voters support impeachment inquiry against Biden

In a recent survey, nearly half of American voters support the current impeachment investigation into the president, which is related to the business dealings of Hunter Biden and other family members.

However, the survey’s findings, particularly views among Democratic voters, should alarm Biden and his party. Democrats are notably less resistant to impeachment than Republicans were in 2019 at the start of House Democrats' first impeachment probe of then-President Donald Trump.

In another survey conducted on Sept. 15-17 among a representative sample of 1,933 registered voters, 48 percent support the current impeachment investigation against 42 percent who oppose it.

Forty-three percent of voters say the probe is primarily due to evidence of wrongdoing by the president, while 41 percent say it is being done out of motivation to damage Biden’s political career.

The findings also showed that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's favorability rating among Republican voters has improved to 49 percent from 42 percent following his impeachment inquiry announcement, while his unfavorability rating dropped to 18 percent from 25 percent since the beginning of September.

More than three of five Republicans, almost half of independents, and surprisingly 36 percent of Democrats approve of the inquiry.