By Shlomie Katash
Ahead of the House of Representatives’ return from its annual summer recess, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has directed the legislative body to investigate a possible impeachment of President Joe Biden on the grounds of corruption related to his family’s business affairs.
According to the Associated Press, the inquiry will be led by Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan, Chairman of the Oversight Committee James Comer, and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee Jason Smith. The congressmen have been collaborating in recent months regarding probes into Biden’s family. The scrutiny largely stems from a 2019 unverified FBI tip that alleged that Biden, in his role as vice president, abused his power to accept and engineer a bribe on behalf of his son, Hunter.
Thus far, the House oversight has failed to produce any direct evidence indicating improper behavior from Hunter Biden that is linked to his father. Nevertheless, McCarthy believes opening an inquiry to be imperative.
“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption and warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” McCarthy said in his announcement of the inquiry. “This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather all the facts and answers for the American public.”
The Biden administration has dismissed the inquiry as the latest attempt in a string of political attacks against his family ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
“House Republicans have been investigating the president for nine months, and they’ve turned up no evidence of wrongdoing,” responded Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson. “[This is] extreme politics at its worst.”
McCarthy’s launch does not mean that President Biden has been officially impeached. Although every inquiry in history has eventually led to impeachment, the official process begins only after being passed by the House. If the body were to approve impeachment, the trial would move to the Senate, where 60 of the 100 in the Democratic-controlled chamber would vote on whether or not to convict the president of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” according to the Constitution.
While the investigation can take place for as long as Speaker McCarthy wishes, it is unclear whether a majority of the House would vote to impeach President Biden on these charges without significant evidence being brought forward. Several Republicans have already stated their opposition, and with the GOP holding a slim four-seat majority, the idea of 218 representatives supporting impeachment at this time may seem improbable. If it happens, however, Biden will become the fourth president to be impeached, alongside Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump, who was impeached twice.