The U.S. House of Representatives has opened an official investigation to impeach President Joe Biden over the controversial international business activities of his son, Hunter, in a move that the White House considered "a baseless political trick."

Political analysts see the chances of success of this investigation as almost nonexistent, but it could distract Biden's efforts as he seeks to win a second term in the presidential elections scheduled for November 2024.

Republicans, who have held the majority of seats in the House of Representatives since the beginning of the year, accuse Biden of exploiting his influence when he was Vice President under Barack Obama (2009-2017) to allow his son to engage in questionable business activities in China and Ukraine.

For his part, the head of the House investigation committee, James Comer, said that "Joe Biden repeatedly lied to the American people."

The president, his Democratic allies, and his son firmly deny these accusations.

After the vote, Biden accused the Republicans of "choosing to waste their time on a baseless political trick." He added in a statement: "Instead of working to improve the lives of Americans, their priority is to attack me with lies."

Hunter Biden had also said at a press conference yesterday, Wednesday: "My father was never financially involved in my affairs." However, the fifty-year-old man, who has a history of addiction and also faces legal problems, admitted to making "mistakes" in his career.