The first hearing of Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden took place on Thursday, even as a government shutdown loomed.

Before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing began, the Republican chair of the panel, James Comer said the probe so far “has uncovered a mountain of evidence revealing how Joe Biden has used his public office for his family’s financial gain”. He added that Biden had “lied to the American people about his knowledge of and participation in his family’s corrupt business schemes,” alluding mainly to the foreign business dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter.

Here are five facts to know about the first impeachment hearing of Biden:

Timing of the hearing

The first hearing in the impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden comes two weeks after the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, launched an inquiry into the president’s conduct over allegations of corruption in his family’s business dealings.

“This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather the full facts and answers for the American public,” McCarthy said earlier this month. “That’s exactly what we want to know – the answers. I believe the president would want to answer these questions and allegations as well.”

It is unclear if the conservative lawmakers have the evidence to substantiate claims that the president profited from the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden and other family members

Four witnesses

For the first hearing, the two sides agreed to have four witnesses in total. and all of them were experts in law and accounting. The Republicans invited former assistant attorney general Eileen O’Connor, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, and Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant.

“This week, the House Oversight Committee will present evidence uncovered to date and hear from legal and financial experts about crimes the Bidens may have committed as they brought in millions at the expense of U.S. interests,” Comer said in a statement Monday.

None of the witnesses appeared to have direct knowledge of the allegations against Biden. The GOP lawmakers also refrained from providing any evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

Comer told CNN that he wanted the witnesses of the first hearing to be expert financial and constitutional witnesses. Democrats have invited Michael J. Gerhardt, a professor of jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The White House’s statement

The White House responded to the first day of the impeachment hearing by releasing the following statement: “There are 60 hours and 55 minutes until the government shuts down because of extreme House Republicans’ chaos and inability to govern. The consequences for the American people will be very damaging – from lost jobs, to troops working without pay, to jeopardizing important efforts to fight fentanyl, provide food assistance, and more. Nothing can distract from that.”

Impeachment inquiry to continue even if government shuts down

Democratic Re. Jamie Raskin of Maryland brought a government shutdown countdown clock to Thursday’s impeachment inquiry hearing which was meant to be a reminder that the government funding expires at midnight on Saturday night. The government will shut down if lawmakers can not reach a deal before then.

But House Republicans are planning to move ahead with their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden even if the government shuts down. Comer said a potential shutdown will have no impact on his staff as the GOP lawmakers plan to keep issuing subpoenas. He told CNN on Tuesday, “We’re going to keep going.”

Republicans release tax and bank statements

Comer told CNN last week that at the first hearing, he wanted a financial expert to speak to bank records pertaining to the Biden family’s business dealings, which would in turn establish why an impeachment inquiry is warranted.

“Today, the House Oversight Committee will examine over two dozen pieces of evidence revealing Joe Biden’s corruption and abuse of public office,” Comer said in a statement provided to CNN. “This includes e-mails, text messages, bank records, and testimony of Biden business associates.”

The committees spearheading the probe released records related to Hunter Biden and are seeking additional documents to gather proof of misconduct against Joe Biden.