House Oversight Chair calls on Biden to testify in impeachment hearings

House Oversight Chair calls on Biden to testify in impeachment hearings.

2 bodies found in submerged truck after Baltimore bridge collapse.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has invited President Biden to testify in the ongoing impeachment hearings against him in Congress. The date Biden is invited to testify, April 16, would coincide with the opening week the first criminal trial against former President Trump in New York. Any testimony from Biden would have to be voluntary and there’s no indication that Biden is inclined to volunteer.

The inquiry has so far elicited both public and private testimony from dozens of witnesses. The proceedings have largely focused on the shady foreign business dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter, and brother, Jim. However, they have so far failed to find any evidence that Joe Biden materially benefitted from these associations. Nor can they point to any action Biden took to benefit the entities his son and brother were doing business with.

Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, had previously claimed to have information pointing to a quid-pro-quo between Biden and Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that gave Hunter a seat on its board. The allegations by Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary committees relied heavily on Smirnov’s account. However, these claims have since proven to be untrue and Smirnov was recently indicted for lying to the FBI about these and other allegations.

The committee’s last hearing on March 20 featured testimony from former Hunter Biden associate Tony Bobulinski. Bobulinski claimed to have met with Joe, Jim and Hunter Biden in 2017 (when Joe Biden was no longer VP) but couldn’t provide any evidence that Joe Biden took part in any business discussions. Nevertheless, Bobulinski accused Joe Biden of having committed numerous crimes, but was unable to name any specific violation.

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2 bodies found in submerged truck after Baltimore bridge collapse

Searchers have found the bodies of two of the 6 road workers missing since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse early Tuesday morning. The bridge collapsed just before 1:30am when a large container ship struck one of its supporting piers. The road crew was at work on the bridge filling potholes at the time. Eight men were known to have fallen in. Two were rescued and four remain missing.

All of the missing men have been presumed dead as of Tuesday evening. The wife of one of the rescued men said that the crew were on break in their vehicles at the time of the collision. The two men found dead were inside of a submerged truck.

Only three of the missing have been identified: Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, 35, from Honduras, Miguel Luna, from El Salvador; and Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, from Guatemala. All of the missing men were immigrants either from Mexico or Central American countries and all had wives and families living near Baltimore.

Due to hazardous conditions at the sight, the search has been paused to allow for debris to be cleared. Searchers believe that other vehicles may be buried under concrete and steel beams that came down with the bridge.

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