Biden accuses Republicans of launching impeachment inquiry to ‘shut down the government’
President Biden accused House Republicans of opening an impeachment inquiry against him because “they want to shut down the government,” in his first public remarks on the congressional probe.
Biden, 80, appeared incredulous at the motive behind Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Tuesday directive for House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry against him — linking the investigation into possible wrongdoing to the looming Sept. 30 government funding deadline.
“Well, I tell you what, I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me,” Biden said at a campaign reception in McLean, Va., on Wednesday, according to multiple outlets. “Now, best I can tell they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.”
The president noted that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wanted to impeach him on day one of his presidency.
“Everybody always asked about impeachment. I get up every day not focused on impeachment, I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to deal with issues that affect the American people every single solitary day,” Biden added, before moving on to other topics.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) ordered the impeachment inquiry against the president in response to his alleged involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals.
“House 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 said at the Capitol when he announced the launch of the investigatory step.
“Through our investigations, we have found that President Biden did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings,” the speaker charged. “Eyewitnesses have testified that the president joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions. Dinners resulted in cars and millions of dollars into his sons and his son’s business partners.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed Wednesday that congressional investigations into the Biden family’s alleged influence-peddling operation have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the president.
“That is what we heard over and over again, from their almost year-long investigation, and that’s because the president didn’t do anything wrong. Even House Republicans have said the evidence does not exist,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Biden has repeatedly claimed he never spoke with his 53-year-old son or brother James about their foreign ventures, despite evidence to the contrary, including witness statements and records from Hunter’s abandoned laptop.
While the impeachment inquiry doesn’t necessarily mean that Biden will be impeached, it’s widely expected that articles of impeachment will be drafted and considered.
Five resolutions have been introduced by Republican lawmakers since January seeking to impeach the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors” related to his handling of the immigration crisis and his alleged efforts to shield his family’s business dealings from congressional oversight and Justice Department investigations.
McCarthy will be forced to juggle the inquiry with the deadline to fund the government by the end of the month. Without any action, the federal government will shut down.
Some House Republicans have urged for focus to remain on pushing for spending cuts ahead of the Sept. 30 government funding deadline.
McCarthy has reportedly pitched GOP members on passing a short-term bill called a continuing resolution while an agreement on funding the government over a longer period of time can be worked out.
The conservative House Freedom Caucus indicated Tuesday that it will oppose any stopgap measure designed to avoid a shutdown.
