Will Joe Biden be impeached? House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hints at inquiry amid claims of 'evidence piling up'
WASHINGTON, DC: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has indicated that the ongoing GOP-led House committee investigations into the Biden family's overseas business dealings are "rising to the level of impeachment inquiry." McCarthy's announcement follows revelations made by a key witness, suggesting that Hunter Biden frequently connected his father, President Joe Biden, with foreign business associates.
“When Biden was running for office, he told the public he has never talked about business. He said his family has never received a dollar from China, which we prove is not true,” said McCarthy. “We’ve only followed where the information has taken us... 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.”
Why is there a call for Joe Biden to be impeached?
McCarthy also cited the accusations made by two IRS whistleblowers regarding the Justice Department's interference in a five-year investigation into potential tax crimes involving Hunter. Attorney General Merrick Garland may also be the subject of an impeachment proceeding after the IRS agents contradicted his testimony regarding Delaware US Attorney David Weiss' authority to charge Hunter even outside his own district. “This is a question for the full conference, but I will tell you this … Speaker McCarthy said if we have to go to an impeachment inquiry, we will in fact do that,” Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said.
“It sure looks [possible] now, based on all this evidence that keeps piling up. One thing I do know is if you head down this road, it completely consumes Congress,” Jordan noted. “I was, as you know, on the other side of this when the Democrats did their ridiculous impeachment of President Trump four years ago.”
The House speaker also highlighted findings from Republican investigations that exposed how members of the Biden family and their business associates allegedly used shell companies to amass millions of dollars from foreign entities. Following this revelation, Rep Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Rep Claudia Tenney (R-NY) called on House Republicans to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Biden.
Who is raising the allegations?
Devon Archer, a close partner of Hunter, is expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee on July 31, describing instances where the first son frequently put his father, then Vice President, on speakerphone during foreign business calls. Archer's testimony comes in the wake of the recent release of an FBI informant file alleging that Hunter and VP Biden coerced a Ukrainian oligarch to pay $10 million in bribes to evade a corruption probe.
“House Republicans should initiate impeachment proceedings against President Biden,” said Banks. “Joe Biden was trading his personal influence to enrich himself and his family and must be held accountable for selling out America,” claimed the former chairman of the powerful Republican Study Committee. A source close to McCarthy said, “Kevin will never go all in on a [former House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi-style sham impeachment. But the evidence is piling up, and he’s getting more bullish on a Biden impeachment."
"As soon as there’s clear and convincing evidence directly tying Biden to Hunter’s shenanigans, the moderates will jump on board. We’ve been talking to them. Not looking good for Sleepy Joe,” the source added. There is evidence suggesting that Biden had in-person meetings with Hunter's associates from China, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as his American partners, reported New York Post. Records found on Hunter's abandoned laptop indicated that he complained about having to give "half" of his income to his father.
'Where's the money?'
Additionally, Hunter traveled aboard Air Force Two on official trips to China in 2013 while setting up a state-backed investment fund called BHR Partners, where the incoming CEO Jonathan Li met VP Biden in Beijing. He also used the taxpayer-funded jet to travel to Mexico in 2016, where he courted the nation's business elite, some of whom his father had hosted the previous year at the official VP's residence in Washington.
Archer intends to testify that he was present for approximately two dozen calls in which Hunter put his father on speakerphone with his foreign associates. This included about half a dozen instances where Biden was specifically introduced to others. In an alleged call on December 4, 2015, Hunter phoned his father from Dubai after Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky and executive Vadym Pozharskyi requested him to get his dad to show support for the firm during his visit to Kyiv three days later.
It remains uncertain whether Archer, who joined Burisma's board in early 2014 alongside Hunter, will provide further context on the $10 million bribery allegation, which suggests that Biden allegedly received payment to force out Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. “We’ve known that President Biden lied about not discussing Hunter’s overseas business dealings. It certainly wouldn’t surprise me to learn he was far more involved,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
“I hope House investigators will ask Devon Archer what he discussed with then-VP Biden in the White House on April 16, 2014, five days before Biden traveled to Ukraine and six days before Archer joined the Board of Burisma. The dates of these events are not coincidences.” The president has attempted to dismiss the bribery allegation, jokingly asking, "Where's the money?" during a statement made last month. However, the Oversight Committee is actively investigating both the bribery claim and the references found on Hunter's laptop regarding Burisma opening a Maltese bank account in 2016.
IRS agents testify on allegations
Furthermore, last week, two IRS agents testified before the House Oversight Committee, alleging that Biden intervened to block tax fraud charges against his son and that prosecutors in Delaware hindered standard investigative procedures, preventing agents from scrutinizing the president's involvement in international income matters. Additionally, the agents revealed a threatening text message from Hunter to a Chinese government-linked business in July 2017, which allegedly directly implicated Biden just before approximately $5 million was transferred to Hunter's bank accounts.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) discussed the significance of the threatening message emphasizing that it “shows that, in fact, President Biden did not just know about his son’s business dealings, he then reverted in saying that he is not involved in his son’s business dealings.” Nevertheless, Hunter recently reached a probation-only plea deal involving two tax-crime misdemeanors and a gun possession felony, which will be expunged after a two-year period.
The IRS agents claimed that he evaded around $2.2 million in taxable income, totaling $8.3 million in income. However, the plea deal still awaits approval from a judge, and the first son is scheduled to attend his first court date on Wednesday, July 26. Amid the calls for potential impeachment, the White House accused House Republicans of using the Biden probes as a distraction from addressing critical issues like inflation and job creation.
'The president was never in business with his son!'
“Instead of focusing on the real issues Americans want us to address like continuing to lower inflation or create jobs, this is what the @HouseGOP wants to prioritize,” White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations Ian Sams tweeted in response to McCarthy’s remarks. “Their eagerness to go after @POTUS regardless of the truth is seemingly bottomless.”
Instead of focusing on the real issues Americans want us to address like continuing to lower inflation or create jobs, this is what the @HouseGOP wants to prioritize.
— Ian Sams (@IanSams46) July 25, 2023
Their eagerness to go after @POTUS regardless of the truth is seemingly bottomless. https://t.co/fwX2yKleMF
Subsequently, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated President Biden's stance that he "never" discussed overseas business dealings with his son. “I’ve been asked this question a million times. The answer is not going to change,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at a general press briefing. “The answer remains the same. The president was never in business with his son. I just don’t have anything else to add.”
McCarthy questioned the Biden family's involvement in business dealings with countries facing ongoing problems and expressed his determination to seek answers through the ongoing investigations. “I believe we will follow this all the way to the end,” he told Sean Hannity. “And this is going to rise to an impeachment inquiry the way the Constitution tells us to do this, and we have to get the answers to these questions.”
Is it possible to impeach the President?
The prospect of impeachment is typically highly partisan, requiring House Republicans, who currently hold a narrow 10-seat margin, to be nearly unanimous in their support for initiating such a sensational proceeding. If a House impeachment probe were to be launched, it would likely involve various committees, including the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means panels.
The Judiciary Committee would be responsible for passing actual articles of impeachment to the House floor for a vote. However, the Oversight Panel has already conducted much of the investigation into the Biden family's dealings, while the Ways and Means Committee possesses special powers to release tax records, making it a probable multi-committee effort. Historically, the Senate has never convicted and removed a president from office after receiving articles of impeachment from the House.
If President Biden were to face an impeachment trial, the Democratic-held Senate would likely acquit him, but only after a thorough trial featuring substantial evidence and witness testimonies. Despite this, there has been a steady increase in calls for President Biden's impeachment. As Biden, 80, seeks a second four-year term in the upcoming election, he has faced scrutiny regarding his involvement in Hunter's international dealings, including his implication in the threatening text message and reference in the June 2020 FBI informant file regarding Ukraine as the "big guy."
The moniker was also used to describe a proposed 10% cut for Biden as part of the later Chinese-government-linked partnership with CEFC China Energy. Meanwhile, Archer was sentenced to one year in prison last year for defrauding a Native American tribe. Notably, throughout US history, only three presidents have been impeached, with Donald Trump being the most recent. He faced impeachment in 2019 for allegedly pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and again in 2021 for reportedly inciting the Capitol riot that disrupted the certification of the 2020 election.