President Biden accused House Republicans of opening an impeachment inquiry against him because “they want to shut down the government,” in his first public statements about the congressional investigation.
Biden, 80, seemed incredulous at the motive behind President Kevin McCarthy’s Tuesday directive for House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry against him, linking the investigation into possible irregularities to the imminent government funding deadline of September 30.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, I don’t really know why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me,” Biden said at a campaign reception in McLean, Virginia, on Wednesday, according to multiple outlets. “Now the best I can say is that they want to remove me because they want to shut down the government.”
The president noted that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wanted to impeach him on the first day of his presidency.
“Everyone always asked about the impeachment. I wake up every day without focusing on the impeachment, I have a job to do. “I have to address issues that affect the American people every day,” Biden added, before moving on to other topics.
Biden linked the impeachment inquiry against him to the spending battle on Capitol Hill. REUTERS
McCarthy (R-Calif.) ordered the impeachment inquiry into the president in response to his alleged involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings.
“House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations about President Biden’s conduct. Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption,” McCarthy said on Capitol Hill as he announced the start of the investigation.
“Through our investigations, we have discovered that President Biden lied to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s overseas businesses,” the speaker charged. “Eyewitnesses have testified that the president participated in multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions. The dinners resulted in cars and millions of dollars for his children and his son’s business partners.”
McCarthy says there is enough evidence indicating the president was involved in his son’s overseas business dealings to justify opening an impeachment inquiry.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that congressional investigations into the Biden family’s alleged influence-peddling operation have turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by the president.
“That’s what we heard over and over again, during his nearly year-long investigation, and that’s because the president did nothing wrong. Even House Republicans have said the evidence doesn’t exist,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Biden has repeatedly claimed that he never spoke to his son or brother James, 53, about his overseas ventures, despite evidence to the contrary, including witness statements and records from Hunter’s abandoned laptop.
The president has denied ever speaking to his son about his foreign business dealings. AP
While the impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean Biden will be impeached, articles of impeachment are widely expected to be drafted and considered.
Since January, Republican lawmakers have introduced five resolutions aimed at impeaching the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors” related to his handling of the immigration crisis and his alleged efforts to shield his family’s businesses from congressional oversight and of Justice Department investigations.
McCarthy will be forced to juggle the investigation and a government funding deadline at the end of the month. Without any action, the federal government will shut down.
Some House Republicans have urged continued focus on pushing through spending cuts ahead of the Sept. 30 government funding deadline.
McCarthy has reportedly encouraged GOP members to pass a short-term bill called a continuing resolution while a deal can be reached on government funding over a longer period.
The conservative House Freedom Caucus indicated Tuesday that it will oppose any stopgap measures designed to prevent a shutdown.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn