Why are Republicans trying to impeach Joe Biden?

STORY: The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted Wednesday to authorize an impeachment inquiry into Democratic President Joe Biden...

...after months of investigation that has so far failed to uncover evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

Republicans have said without proof that Biden improperly traded access while he served as vice president in President Barack Obama's administration.

The White House says they have no basis for an impeachment inquiry.

Among the accusations from Republicans is that the president profited from his son Hunter Biden's business dealings while serving as vice president.

Reuters Correspondent Andy Sullivan is covering the story.

”The Republicans have dug up some evidence that Hunter did trade on this perception that he could provide a pipeline to his powerful father, but they have not provided any evidence so far that Biden himself profited, they've hinted that they think he might have profited from his son's business dealings, but they haven't turned up any evidence.

Republicans have pointed to an FBI document from 2020 in which an informant claims the head of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy firm that included Hunter Biden on its board of directors, said: "it cost 5 (million) to pay one Biden, and 5 (million) to another Biden."

According to Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, the FBI dropped the matter after determining there was no evidence to back it up.

Burisma is at the center of another allegation from Republicans who have said Biden pressured Ukraine to remove its top prosecutor to protect Burisma and Hunter Biden from a possible corruption investigation.

“The defense is that Biden was calling for this guy's removal as the official policy of the United States government. He was acting on behalf of the Obama administration. The Obama administration had determined this guy's bad news. We want him out of there. Biden was the messenger that delivered that. Now certainly you could see there might be potential for a conflict of interest here. (flash)

Here's Biden pressuring a country to remove its top investigator while his son is involved with a very prominent company there. But again, they haven't turned up any evidence of a real quid pro quo.”

Also, Republicans have raised questions about the prosecution of Hunter Biden who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he lied about his drug use while buying a handgun and has been charged separately with tax evasion.

“Now, Republicans are saying, have they soft peddled this investigation? Did the Justice Department try to block this prosecutor? They've turned up a few internal government whistleblowers who said that, you know, they they didn't go as hard on this as they could. Now, the prosecutor who again was appointed by President Trump has said he hasn't encountered any interference. He's been able to do his work and he's clearly brought these charges.”

Hunter Biden’s lawyer said Hunter has repaid his taxes in full and would not be facing charges if he was not the president's son.