McCarthy lacks evidence, announces impeachment inquiry anyway
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McCarthy Announces Impeachment Inquiry Against Biden
Last updated Sep 12, 2023
Image credit: Wikimedia CommonsFacts
- On Tuesday, US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced that the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees will lead a formal impeachment inquiry against Pres. Joe Biden.
- McCarthy said Republicans, who have a slim majority in the House, will "go where the evidence takes us." McCarthy also described evidence of a "culture of corruption" surrounding the president and his son, Hunter.
- A White House spokesperson called McCarthy’s announcement "extreme politics at its worst" and noted that, after a nine-month investigation, Republicans have found no evidence of "wrongdoing" by the president.
- McCarthy doesn’t intend to hold a vote on whether to initiate the impeachment inquiry.
- Previously, the House in June voted along party lines to send a resolution — which accused Biden of dereliction of duty and abuse of power – to the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. That served to delay the start of proceedings.
- McCarthy said the investigation will be led by the House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) with support from House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, (R-Ohio) as well as Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, (R-Mo).
Spin
Democratic narrative
This disruptive political stunt is just an abuse of McCarthy’s power and an usurpation of the will of the people. If this inquiry had the support of even half the House, McCarthy would’ve put it to a vote. Months of investigation have turned up nothing to implicate the president, but the far-right members of the GOP would rather distract from the real work they have to get done by stirring up more conspiracy theories about Pres. Biden and his son.
Republican narrative
This is a legitimate investigation based on evidence uncovered by House committees of a pattern of the Biden family enriching itself through mysterious means while Biden was vice president. An impeachment inquiry will allow Congress to access even more information so it can make an educated decision. Biden and the Democrats should stop denigrating the impeachment process and instead cooperate to prove the president's innocence.
Nerd narrative
There’s a 25% chance that Biden will be impeached by the US House, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
