President Biden accused House Republicans of opening an impeachment inquiry against him because “they want to shut down the government,” in his first public statement about the congressional investigation.
Biden, 80, appeared incredulous at the motive behind Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s order on Tuesday for a House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry against him — linking the investigation into possible misconduct to a Sept. 30 government funding deadline.
“Well, I tell you what, I don’t know why, but they just know they want to impeach me,” Biden said at a campaign reception in McLean, Va., on Wednesday, according to multiple outlets. “Now, the best I can do is tell them they want to prosecute me because they want to shut down the government.”
The President stated that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wants to repeal it on the first day of her presidency.
“Everyone always asks about the prosecution. I wake up every day not focused on prosecuting, I have work to do. I have to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single day alone,” Biden added, before moving on to another topic.
Biden linked the impeachment inquiry against him to the spending battle on Capitol Hill. Reuters
McCarthy (R-Calif.) ordered an impeachment inquiry into the president in response to his alleged involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals.
“House Republicans have revealed serious and credible allegations of President Biden’s conduct. Taken together, these allegations reflect a culture of corruption,” McCarthy said at the Capitol as he announced the launch of the investigative measure.
“Through our investigation, we found that President Biden lied to the American people about his own knowledge of his family’s foreign business dealings,” the speaker claimed. “Eyewitnesses have testified that the president participated in several phone calls and had many interactions. The dinner made cars and millions of dollars to his son and his son’s business partner.”
McCarthy said there was enough evidence showing the president was involved in his son’s foreign business dealings to warrant opening an impeachment inquiry.AP
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed on Wednesday that a congressional investigation into the Biden family’s alleged influence-peddling operation showed no evidence of wrongdoing by the president.
“That’s what we’ve heard over and over again, from their almost year-long investigation, and that’s because the president did nothing wrong. Even the State Assembly Member has said the evidence does not exist,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Biden has repeatedly claimed he never spoke to his son or his 53-year-old brother James about their foreign ventures, despite evidence to the contrary, including witness statements and records from Hunter’s abandoned laptop.
The president has denied ever talking to his son about his foreign business deals. AP
While an impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean Biden will be impeached, it is widely expected that articles of impeachment will be drafted and considered.
Five resolutions have been introduced by Republican lawmakers since January aimed at impeaching the president for “high crimes and misdemeanors” related to his handling of the immigration crisis and his efforts to shield his family’s business dealings from congressional scrutiny and Justice Department investigations.
McCarthy will be forced to fit the inquiry into a deadline for government funding by the end of the month. Without any action, the federal government will shut down.
Some State Legislators have called for a focus on continuing to push for spending cuts ahead of the September 30 government funding deadline.
McCarthy has reportedly told GOP members to pass a short-term bill called a continuing resolution while a deal to fund the government over a longer period of time can be worked out.
The conservative House Freedom Caucus said Tuesday it would oppose any stopgap measure designed to avoid a shutdown.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
