WASHINGTON (Fwrd Axis) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday he is directing House Republicans to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
McCarthy said an impeachment inquiry is “the logical next step” in an effort to seek bank records and other documents from the president and his son Hunter Biden.
“Today, I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” McCarthy said at the U.S. Capitol.
“This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather the full facts and answers for the American public,” he added. “That’s exactly what we want to know — the answers. I believe the president would want to answer these questions and allegations as well.”
House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith will lead the inquiry.
“I do not make this decision lightly,” the speaker said. “Regardless of your party, or who you voted for, these facts concern all Americans.”
White House spokesperson Ian Sams reacted to the news, calling the move politically motivated.
“Speaker McCarthy shouldn’t cave to the extreme, far-right members who are threatening to shut down the government unless they get a baseless, evidence-free impeachment of President Biden. The consequences for the American people are too serious,” he said in a statement.
The news comes just over a month after McCarthy said the multiple investigations into the business dealings of Biden’s family are “rising to the level of an impeachment inquiry.”
Speaking on Fox News in July, McCarthy told Sean Hannity the allegations from the IRS whistleblower the Justice Department treated the Hunter Biden investigation “differently” and claims family received payments from foreign companies have been the main focus of the investigations.
“If you’re sitting in our position today, we would know none of this if Republicans had not taken the majority,” he said.
“We’ve only followed where the information has taken us. But Hannity, this is rising to the level of impeachment inquiry, which provides Congress the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed,” he added.
Despite the GOP-led investigations not being able to produce evidence of wrongdoing by the President, McCarthy claimed Republicans have uncovered “serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct. Taken together these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.”
McCarthy has been clear that there will be a vote for an impeachment inquiry, but as of now, it appears he would fall short of the votes needed to open one.
The House speaker is under increased pressure from hardline Republican members to investigate the president and his administration. House Republicans have also called on impeachments for Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
CNN reported in July that McCarthy had a phone call with former president Donald Trump and said he supported the proposal of expunging the former president’s two impeachments.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) spoke on MSNBC Sunday, telling host Jen Psaki the idea Republicans should impeach Biden is “absurd” without factual evidence to support their claims.
“The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence linking President Biden — if there’s evidence linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor. That doesn’t exist right now,” he said. “And it is really something that we can say, well, in February, we’re going to do this. It’s based on the facts. You go where the facts take you.”
