Former Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., told Newsmax on Friday that House Republicans have enough evidence to file an inquiry of impeachment with the Judiciary Committee and ramp up the investigation into allegations of bribery and influence peddling among President Joe Biden and members of his family.
Barr was a key figure in the impeachment of Bill Clinton in the 1990s. He initiated an impeachment inquiry in 1997. In 1998, the House voted to impeach Clinton on perjury to a grand jury and obstruction of justice. Barr was among 12 House managers for the Senate trial, which ended in Clinton's acquittal on both charges.
"That's the whole purpose of an inquiry of impeachment," Barr told "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "As I introduced in the House back in 1997 against Bill Clinton, at that time, in November of 1997, we didn't have the Monica Lewinsky story. We didn't have the [Ken] Starr report, but we had some very strong circumstantial evidence that the Clinton administration had engaged in improper illegal activities with regard to Red China and labor unions and so forth.
"I did what the Constitution and our laws allow and that is introduce an inquiry of impeachment that simply says there may be enough evidence here to start an official impeachment.
"We clearly are at that same point now with the current president."
Barr said the FBI is "clearly" stalling in cooperating with Republican lawmakers over allegations made by a federal whistleblower that an unclassified FD-1023 form contains allegations of a $5 million payment made to Biden when he was vice president by an executive at Ukrainian energy giant Burisma Holdings Limited to influence U.S. policy decisions.
The form also alleges the executive has 17 audio records between himself and Biden, and Biden's son, Hunter, who sat on Burisma's board.
"As a matter of fact, it isn't thinking they're stalling," Barr said. "They obviously clearly are stalling and that's squarely on [FBI Director] Christopher Wray, with whom I've been very disappointed the way he's been circling the wagons, not for the American people, but for the FBI.
"There is enough evidence at this point that there was very likely money that changed hands between the Biden family, if not Biden himself, and a foreign government, likely to be the Ukraine government.
"There's more smoke here. I think that the Republicans eventually will bring it out. But I do think that it is very much time to file an inquiry of impeachment as a responsible first step."
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