Why were businesses from China, Ukraine, Romania, Kazakhstan, and Russia so generous to Hunter Biden and the web of companies he and his Uncle Jim Biden were associated with during a period that coincided with Joe Biden’s term as vice president? That’s what the House Oversight Committee is asking. The answer will doubtless be part of any hearings that House Republicans might hold for the impeachment of the president.

The question itself gestures at an answer, but many Washington insiders are puzzled. After all, in the words of Chuck Todd, NBC News political director and the recently departed Meet the Press host, “It is not a crime to make money off of your last name.”