After weeks of speculation, and perhaps months of cajoling from some members of his caucus, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy formally announced an impeachment inquiry into President Biden this morning.
The news comes as some members, like Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, had begun plotting against McCarthy accusing him of being too weak and treating the president with kid gloves over growing concerns of corruption within the Biden family.
The move this morning will give the House greater power when attempting to obtain records surrounding Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and investigating how closely Joe Biden was involved with his son’s overseas entanglements during his time as Vice President, according to ABC News:
“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.”
McCarthy said 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.”
McCarthy has made it clear there will be a vote for an impeachment inquiry, but as of now he doesn’t appear to have the votes to open one.
Whether the impeachment inquiry ends with impeachment remains to be seen, but the ball is now rolling in that direction. Even so, more importantly than actually impeaching Biden in the House is getting access to more records:
McCarthy has signaled a Biden impeachment inquiry for weeks in order to obtain bank records and other documents from Biden and his son, Hunter.
Back in August, McCarthy told Fox News, an impeachment inquiry would provide “Congress the apex of legal power to get all the information they need.” So far, Republicans have not been able to prove any wrongdoing by President Biden.
The Biden family is being heavily protected by the federal bureaucracy at large. House Republicans have been in fights for months with agencies like the National Archives and even the Department of Treasury to receive basic, unclassified financial records, reports, and emails pertaining to Joe Biden’s time in office. These are records that are not held under any special classification and should be readily available by a FOIA request or by a Congressional inquiry.
Yet, for reasons unknown, various agencies have been reluctant to cooperate under the law and provide records upon request. President Biden could smooth that over with a phone call and have whatever records requested released immediately, but he also has refused to cooperate leaving open a wide door of suspicion.
Critics have scoffed at the impeachment move pointing out that McCarthy is facing a mini-revolt among some members as the House heads toward a possible government shutdown if a short-term spending bill can’t get passed soon. There’s quite a bit at play and politics weaved in and out.
Whether anything will come from the inquiry remains to be seen but the book on Joe Biden’s corruption is far from its conclusion.
