Republicans accuse Joe Biden of profiting from his son’s foreign business dealings while Biden was vice president.
The Republican Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that he would order an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president About Joe Biden because of the transactions of this family.
McCarthy said the House investigation has revealed a “culture of corruption” surrounding the Biden family.
A committee of the House of Representatives is responsible for the investigation. At the end of the investigation, the House of Representatives will decide whether to bring actual criminal charges against Biden.
Republicans have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
If an indictment is brought, the sentence will be decided by the upper house of Congress, i.e. the Senate. The verdict requires two-thirds of the senators to vote for it. If convicted, Biden would be forced to resign.
A conviction is highly unlikely because the majority of senators are Democrats.
Many Republicans were outraged when the then-Democrat-majority House of Representatives twice appointed a Republican president Donald Trump’s impeachment in 2019 and 2021.
The Senate acquitted Trump both times.
The allegations relate to Biden’s son
Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Now Biden is aiming for a new term in next year’s elections.
Republicans now accuse Biden of taking advantage of his son during his 2009-2017 stint as vice president Hunter Biden transactions made abroad.
So far, Republicans haven’t provided a rationale for their claims.
A former business associate of the younger Biden said at a House hearing that Hunter harbored an “illusion” of getting to power when his father was vice president, according to a transcript released last month.
The White House has said there is no basis for an investigation. Biden has taunted Republicans about possible impeachment.
Trump and hardline Republicans are calling for impeachment
Democrats have sought to portray Republican impeachment talks as an attempt to divert public attention from the four separate criminal charges against Trump.
Trump is seeking the Republican presidential nomination for next year’s election.
Trump has put pressure on Republicans to try to remove Biden from the presidency.
Several hard-line Republicans have said they won’t vote for certain major bills unless McCarthy starts an impeachment inquiry into Biden.
The US Constitution gives Congress the power to impeach federal officials, including the president, for treason, bribery, and other “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Sources: AP, Reuters