US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday announced that he is directing the House to open an impeachment inquiry into US President Joe Biden over his family’s business dealings, launching historic proceedings ahead of next year’s presidential elections.
McCarthy said that House investigations so far “paint a picture of a culture of corruption” around the Biden family as Republicans probe the business dealings of the president’s son, Hunter Biden, from before the Democratic president took office.
“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” McCarthy said, announcing he was directing the House led by the Oversight Committee “to open a formal impeachment inquiry.”
Photo: Reuters
The White House shot back, calling the action in the midst of the presidential campaign “extreme politics at its worst.”
“House Republicans have been investigating the president for nine months, and they’ve turned up no evidence of wrongdoing,” White House spokesman Ian Sams said.
Acting on his own, McCarthy, a Republican, faces mounting pressure from his right flank to take action against Biden or risk being ousted from his leadership job — while he is also struggling to pass legislation needed to avoid a federal government shutdown at the end of the month.
McCarthy is launching the inquiry without a House vote, and it is unclear if he would have enough support from a slim Republican majority. Some lawmakers have panned the evidence so far as not reaching the US constitution’s bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The White House and others pointed to McCarthy’s past statements when he insisted a speaker acting unilaterally to launch an impeachment inquiry would have no legitimacy.
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