In an effort to obtain bank records and other papers from the president and his son Hunter Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, announced on Tuesday that he is ordering three House committees to launch an impeachment investigation into Joe Biden.
McCarthy told reporters during a news conference on Tuesday that a probe into Biden’s impeachment is the “logical next step” in the lengthy investigations being conducted by the GOP.
This natural next step, he continued, “will give our committees full authority to compile all the facts and responses for the American public is precisely what we want to get the answers to.” “I think the president would want to respond to both of these inquiries and allegations.”
McCarthy claimed that House Republicans “uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct.”
These are accusations of misuse of authority, resistance, and corruption, he declared. “The House of Representatives should look into them further,”
McCarthy stated that Rep. Jim Comer, chairman of the oversight committee, Rep. Jason Smith, chairman of the Ways and means committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary committee, will coordinate the investigation.
A vote to open an impeachment investigation is not a vote on impeachment itself; rather, it is the first step in the process to remove the president from office.
McCarthy’s move marks a significant U-turn for the speaker after he earlier this month told the conservative website Breitbart that he wouldn’t launch an impeachment investigation without a vote of the entire House. It comes at a time when he doesn’t seem to have enough support to move forward on the matter and is up against suspicion from all corners of the GOP due to the lack of evidence connecting the president to Hunter Biden’s wrongdoings.
Additionally, it is a turnabout for McCarthy from 2019, when he railed against Democrats for opening an impeachment probe into the administration of then-President Donald Trump before a vote, casting doubt on the legality of such an investigation absent House approval. Democrats in the House eventually decided to approve it.
In a statement, White House spokesman Ian Sams claimed that after nine months of investigating the president, House Republicans had “turned up no evidence of wrongdoing.”
Sams referred to the House Republican conference led by McCarthy and added, “His own Republican colleagues have said so. “He promised to convene a vote to begin the impeachment process, but he has since changed his mind since he lacks support. At its worst, this is extremist politics.
In reaction to McCarthy’s intentions to open an investigation into the president’s impeachment, the Biden campaign promptly blasted the speaker, pointing out his “flip-flopping” position.
Kevin McCarthy lacks the necessary support. His supporters claim that there is no proof. In order to aid Donald Trump’s campaign, McCarthy is now entirely flip-flopping, according to a tweet from Ammar Moussa, the Biden campaign’s director of quick response.
At the House Republican Conference meeting on Thursday morning, Jordan and Comer will brief the members, according to two Republican sources.
First to report on the development was Punchbowl News.
Republicans in the House praised McCarthy right away and suggested that Biden should be put under investigation for impeachment.
The House Oversight Committee member and Republican representative from Pennsylvania, Scott Perry, tweeted: “A formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden’s culture of corruption is overdue and fully warranted.”
“Honored to be on the House Oversight Committee — boy, do I have some questions,” he continued.
Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee reacted favorably to the news as well.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters, “The inquiry is an inquiry — it’s not an impeachment.” “It appears to me that it will open up a channel for us to get a great deal of material that we feel has being withheld. Therefore, the House will decide what to do.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, compared the Biden impeachment investigation to Watergate while supporting it, saying that it “may be on par with that, possibly worse.” I’m confident that we now have the information. Yes, I support conducting a probe. I believe we ought to gather the facts. And again, I think it should be done in public.
Democratic support was lower. The campaign was dubbed “absurd” by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who also said that many Republicans had gone “off the deep end.” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., reacted to the news with sarcasm and said, “Oh my God, really? Holy cow! You know, well, it’s devastating,” she said while giggling and pointing at her hands in a frightful ghostly manner. Don’t do it, please! Do not do it, please! Oh no! Oh no!” he continued.
McCarthy has hinted for weeks that the House would start an impeachment investigation, which would give the House’s inquiries into the Biden family more legal clout. There is no proof of the president’s wrongdoing or any ties between the president as well as Hunter Biden’s international business transactions, according to the GOP-led investigations.
McCarthy, who spoke to reporters Monday night, asserted that fresh information was emerging every day and cited Biden’s use of email aliases while serving as vice president as evidence.
McCarthy stated on Monday that “it only raises more and more inquiries, and we’re going to have to find the answers.” “And all of this information is new, according to what we’ve been able to learn. However, the additional material reveals that the Biden family constantly delays things. Delaying the information is in their best interests. The American people have a right to know.
Hunter Biden’s contacts and payments from various foreign sources are the center of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation, which hasn’t yet produced concrete proof that the president either accepted this money or assisted in its solicitation. Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s business partner, said in court last month that Hunter routinely called his father while meeting with international business contacts, but that these calls were mainly for small talk like chatting about the weather.
Republicans who are politically weak and in the center have expressed hesitation over whether to open a formal impeachment investigation, claiming the GOP lacks the evidence to do so.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of staunchly conservative lawmakers, spoke against the idea of impeachment, pointing out the paucity of evidence that GOP-led committees’ investigations into Hunter Biden’s international business transactions had yielded.
In an appearance with “Inside with Jen Psaki” on Sunday, Buck stated that there was currently “no evidence connecting the president with the evidence on Hunter Biden.”
According to NBC News, the White House is strengthening a war room to coordinate a response to a Republican impeachment inquiry. While their Republican counterparts continue to look for evidence to justify a future investigation, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are actively crafting a defense of the president.
Right-wing Republicans are pressuring McCarthy to support an impeachment investigation on Biden in response to a short-term financing plan that would prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month.
McCarthy bringing up an impeachment investigation in the midst of impending legislative deadlines for funding the government offended several House Democrats.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, tweeted that the impeachment process was just Kevin McCarthy’s “shiny new object” to divert attention away from the fact that the GOP can’t even pass legislation to finance the government. We are therefore on our way to a MAGA Republican shutdown that will be harsh while they engage in political games with a moot impeachment.
The partisan impeachment inquiry by McCarthy was denounced by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, who tweeted: “The bogus impeachment inquiry undertaken by Extreme MAGA Republicans is unfortunate, reckless, and repulsive. It is a political vendetta with no basis in reality or the law. Democrats will always stand up for the truth and combat right-wing extremism.
The head of the House Judiciary, Rep. Jerry Nadler, praised Biden and charged that McCarthy had “caved” to GOP extremists.
Let me be absolutely clear: President Biden has done nothing illegal, and House Republicans have not discovered the slightest shred of evidence to imply otherwise, he said in a statement. “Speaker McCarthy may continue to hold his position for the time being, but he has again capitulated to the strongest elements of the Republican Party.”
McCarthy is also threatened with losing his position as speaker. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., suggested on Sunday that if McCarthy doesn’t move through with an impeachment investigation, he would try to force a vote to remove him. If necessary, he would cooperate with Democrats to do this. Despite the speaker’s announcement, Gaetz renewed his warning against McCarthy on Tuesday.
Gaetz addressed the House during a speech and stated, “I rise today to serve notice.” “Mr. Speaker, you are not abiding by the contract that gave you permission to fill this position. The next step for the House of Representatives is to either remove you in accordance with a motion to vacate the chair or bring you into immediate 100% compliance, Gaetz stated.
Gaetz urged McCarthy to conduct votes instead on budget balancing and term limits rather than bringing up any proposals that would increase short-term spending. Additionally, he asked that House Republicans summon Hunter Biden and other Biden family members.