What documented investigations have examined allegations of corruption against Joe Biden?
Executive summary
Multiple documented investigations have examined allegations that Joe Biden benefited from or participated in his family’s overseas business dealings; the most active recent probe was the Republican-led House Oversight Committee impeachment inquiry and related committee work that released memoranda, timelines and claimed millions in payments to the Bidens [1] [2]. Earlier Senate work and bipartisan reporting have found no proven illegal conduct by Joe Biden: a 2020 joint Republican Senate committee inquiry found no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe Biden, and summaries of broad investigations note no established wrongdoing by December 2023 [3].
1. Congressional impeachment inquiry led by Rep. James Comer — the most expansive recent investigation
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer opened a high-profile impeachment inquiry and led a multipart congressional investigation into “influence peddling” by the Biden family, publishing timelines, bank-record memoranda and public releases asserting the Bidens and associates created shell companies and received over $24–$30 million from foreign entities while alleging Joe Biden knew of or participated in schemes [1] [4] [5]. Comer’s committee has characterized its work as uncovering “over two dozen pieces of evidence” and concluded in committee statements that Biden engaged in “impeachable conduct” and “abused his office,” claims carried in Oversight releases and committee narratives [1] [6].
2. Scope and kinds of evidence the Oversight materials cite
The Oversight Committee’s public materials include a timeline of contacts, bank-record memoranda, assertions about shell companies and references to an unclassified FBI FD-1023 form memorializing a confidential human source claiming a Burisma executive said payments were arranged for “the big guy” (a phrase alleged to reference Joe Biden) [2] [4]. Committee releases emphasize financial flows, alleged meetings between Joe Biden and family associates, and calls for subpoenaed documents such as suspicious activity reports (SARs) from Treasury [7] [2].
3. Countervailing findings and prior Senate work: no proven wrongdoing found earlier
Independent of the 2023–2025 Republican House work, an earlier joint investigation by two Republican Senate committees in September 2020 reported finding no evidence of wrongdoing by Joe Biden in the Ukraine matter; summary accounts note that, as of December 2023, sweeping House committee investigations had not established Biden’s criminal culpability [3]. Reporting and witnesses have produced competing interpretations; at least one key Republican witness publicly said the evidence did not meet the threshold for impeachment [8].
4. Other congressional releases and partisan framing — how to read claims
Much of the documentary record cited here originates from Oversight Committee releases, statements, and memoranda drafted and publicized by Republican leadership, including sharp political language (e.g., “Biden Crime Family,” “most corrupt president”) used in op-eds and committee blogs [5] [9]. The committee’s conclusions reflect its political posture and prosecutorial goals—its public products must be read alongside the fact that committee claims have not produced a criminal conviction of the president in available reporting [5] [3].
5. FBI-related documents and third-party disclosures cited by investigators
Sen. Chuck Grassley and the Oversight Committee circulated and relied in part on an unclassified FBI-generated record (FD-1023) describing allegations from a confidential human source that a Burisma executive discussed payments tied to Hunter and to a “Big Guy,” and other contemporaneous reporting of documents retained by the executive; committees cite such records as corroboration while noting uncertainties about FBI verification [10] [2]. Available sources do not mention whether those raw records were independently verified in court or produced criminal charges against Joe Biden [2] [10].
6. Media, commentators and scholarly perspective — disagreement persists
Mainstream media and independent summaries record pushback on sweeping corruption assertions: The Guardian noted that Comer’s own book and public remarks reflected both confidence and caution—Woodward reportedly warned the investigation could be “a big nothing burger”—and that efforts so far have not produced incontrovertible proof of presidential criminality [8]. Wikipedia’s treatment likewise summarizes that earlier congressional and Senate probes did not establish wrongdoing by Joe Biden as of late 2023 [3].
7. What is and is not in the public record now
Public committee releases document alleged payments, bank records memoranda, and inquiries into SARs and witness testimony [4] [7]. Available sources do not mention a criminal conviction of Joe Biden arising from these investigations nor do they show that independent, nonpartisan prosecutors have charged him with corruption based on the Oversight Committee’s public materials [3] [5].
8. How to evaluate competing claims going forward
Readers should weigh two facts in the public record: Republican-led House committees have produced extensive public accusations, documents and memos alleging payments and influence-peddling tied to the Biden family and asserting Joe Biden’s knowledge [1] [4]; and earlier bipartisan or cross-committee reviews and summaries have not produced firm, judicial findings of criminal wrongdoing by Joe Biden up to late 2023 [3]. The provenance of evidence (committee memos, FD-1023 entries, bank-record summaries) and the political aims of investigating bodies must be borne in mind when judging completeness and credibility [2] [9].
Limitations: this summary relies only on the provided documents and reporting; available sources do not mention outcomes beyond committee reports and public memos [1] [3].