McCarthy launches impeachment inquiry into US President Biden

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Sep 2023 23:23
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US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says that US President Joe Biden and his family must be investigated for criminal activity given their "culture of corruption".

US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (AP)

To further investigate US President Joe Biden's family's criminal activity, US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday, that he will be launching an impeachment inquiry into the US President.

"I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct – a culture of corruption," McCarthy said in a statement.

According to McCarthy, an impeachment committee, which would grant the House greater power to gather facts, will be led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith.

Moreover, McCarthy noted that Biden, alongside his team, must cooperate with the probe, in the interest of transparency, as he launched the inquiry without holding a vote, which is considered a constitutional decision. However, it is important to note that McCarthy had previously expressed his support for holding a vote.

Building on previous House committee probes into the Biden family, the impeachment procedure will look into the president's son, Hunter Biden, for foreign bribery and influence peddling.

In turn, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams said, "House Republicans have been investigating the President for nine months, and they've turned up no evidence of wrongdoing," adding that this is "Extreme politics at its worst."

Biden team braces for countering expected GOP impeachment inquiry

The White House has established a huge response team comprised of approximately two dozen lawyers, legislative aides, and communication experts to counter the Republican impeachment inquiry targeting President Joe Biden, NBC News reported earlier in the month, citing a White House insider familiar with the matter.

This strategic initiative, developed over several months within the White House counsel's office, is a response to Republican-led House investigations. Biden's aides and supporters are preparing to mount a strong and robust defense against any impeachment inquiry, portraying it as a partisan endeavor devoid of evidence.

The White House aide highlighted the importance of this situation, stating, "Comparing this to past impeachments isn’t apples to apples or even apples to oranges; it’s apples to elephants. Never in modern history has an impeachment been based on no evidence whatsoever."

Preparations for a potential impeachment began early in the year when the new US House majority was established. Speaker Kevin McCarthy's calls for an impeachment inquiry are but a "natural step forward," as White House personnel have dedicated the August recess to research Republican statements and fine-tune their messaging and response strategies.