House Republicans issued three subpoenas Thursday for Hunter Biden and James Biden's personal and business banking records, as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, an escalation in their investigation of the Biden family's business dealings. 

The latest subpoenas come after the GOP-led House Oversight Committee held its first impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden Thursday, focusing on Republican allegations of "constitutional and legal questions surrounding the President's involvement in corruption and abuse of public office," according to a committee spokesperson. Three House committees are looking into whether Mr. Biden "abused his federal office to enrich his family and conceal his and/or his family's misconduct," according to a memo written by the Republican chairs of the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees that outlined the view of the factual and legal basis for the inquiry.

"The subpoenaed bank records will help the Committees determine whether Joe Biden abused his office by selling access and/or by receiving payments or other benefits in exchange for official acts," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said in a letter accompanying the subpoenas.

Mr. Biden has denied any involvement in his son's foreign work. 

"I have not taken a penny from any foreign source, ever, in my life," Mr. Biden said in October 2020 at a presidential debate.

The two chairmen said they're concerned that Hunter Biden and other Biden family members "sought to conceal the source of foreign income by having lucrative wires sent to Biden associates' accounts, instead of their own accounts," and added, "We believe these records will provide insight as to where the foreign money was finally sent."

Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither did attorneys for James Biden.

Last year, Senate Republicans scrutinized James Biden's business ventures, releasing records that showed payments James Biden's company, The Lion Hall Group, received from a Chinese-financed consulting group in 2018, and monthly retainers to James and Hunter Biden.  

Hunter Biden's foreign business affairs have been at the center of the investigations led by congressional Republicans. Comer released a series of memorandums earlier this year with bank records detailing millions in payments received by Hunter Biden and his associates from foreign entities during Joe Biden's vice presidency, alleging the president was aware of his son's business dealings and "allowed himself to be 'the brand' sold to enrich the Biden family." 

In closed-door testimony before the House Oversight Committee in July, Devon Archer, Hunter Biden's former business associate, who served with him on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma, said Hunter Biden sought to use the Biden brand for leverage in his business dealings, but he said he had no knowledge of any direct involvement by President Biden with Burisma. Archer also testified that Hunter Biden placed his father on a speaker phone call with a business associate during a dinner meeting in Beijing, but Joe Biden did not discuss business.

Ian Sams, White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said Congressional Republicans were using the probe to distract from a potential government shutdown, and called the impeachment inquiry "nothing more than a baseless wild goose chase," in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.

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