Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy floated the idea that the GOP could investigate an impeachment inquiry against United States President Joe Biden over unproven claims of financial misconduct.
The situation developed on Tuesday at the Capitol when McCarthy said that questions raised by House Republicans regarding the Biden family finances need to be investigated. The House speaker has acknowledged that the current investigations have not proven that the Bidens have done anything wrong.
McCarthy Floats Idea of Biden Impeachment
However, McCarthy added that an impeachment inquiry would allow Congress to get the information to know the truth about the issue. Such an inquiry by the House would mark the first step toward bringing articles of impeachment against the president.
Additionally, such a probe could become as lengthy or swift as the House determines it to be, resulting in the investigation stretching into the 2024 campaign season. McCarthy first showed signs of such a situation when he said, "We will follow this to the end," as per the Associated Press.
The remarks are seen as the strongest comment yet from the House speaker on a potential impeachment against Biden following the Republican leader sidelining efforts made by House conservatives to launch such a probe.
McCarthy, having a slim majority in the House, has continuously faced demands from allies of former United States President Donald Trump to elevate their priorities. Furthermore, the Republican businessman himself questioned during a Fox News town hall held last week why his successor has not yet been impeached.
The House speaker has not yet officially endorsed Trump for the 2024 presidential elections, as the latter is seen as the early frontrunner for the GOP nomination or any other candidate. He also denied a report that he was considering House votes to completely remove the former president's two impeachments as another way of showing his support.
The situation comes as House Republicans previously demanded that US Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee, answers questions regarding allegations from two whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to CNN.
Allegations of Financial Misconduct
The whistleblowers claim that the tax investigation in the criminal case against the president's son, Hunter Biden, was tainted by political interference. These are claims that Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland have both denied. Hunter agreed to plead guilty to two federal tax misdemeanors as part of a plea deal.
The White House, in response, criticized House Republicans' eagerness to attack Biden "regardless of the truth." In a statement posted on Twitter on Monday, White House spokesperson Ian Sams said that the GOP is prioritizing these situations instead of focusing on real issues within the country.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said in June that the Bidens received more than $1 million in 17 increments. McCarthy argued that all but one of those payments went to what he described as "Biden shell companies" when he was still vice president.
Based on Comer's prepared remarks, the now sitting president had been "lecturing Romania on anti-corruption policies" while being a "walking billboard" for his family to collect massive amounts of money, said Fox News.