Former President Donald Trump has denied catalyzing the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which was launched last week.
“No, no,” Trump replied on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday when asked if he was pushing Speaker Kevin McCarthy to open an investigation. “He wouldn’t do it based on me, no.”
The 77-year-old former president also denied that he encouraged his Republican allies in the Capitol to support the investigation.
“No, I don’t need to talk to them,” he said. “They are more proactive than me. They think it’s horrible.”
Some reports have suggested that behind the scenes, Trump has been pushing Republicans on the Hill to support the investigation.
This includes a phone call with House GOP conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) had dinner recently with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), CNN reported.
Last Tuesday, McCarthy announced that he was directing three congressional committees to open an impeachment inquiry — a fact-finding process distinct from formal impeachment.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ordered three congressional committees to begin an impeachment inquiry into Biden over his alleged involvement in his son Hunter’s business deal.AP Photo/Susan Walsh
McCarthy cited findings from the Oversight Committee and other Republican investigators that raised questions about a “culture of corruption” related to the Biden family’s foreign business dealings.
The White House has strongly denied the House GOP’s characterization of the family’s foreign collusion and highlighted Republican skepticism about the investigation, including from Rep. Ken Buck (R-Col.)
McCarthy’s announcement comes against a backdrop of intense GOP bickering over how to avoid a government shutdown by the end of the month.
Trump insisted that McCarthy made his own decision to launch an impeachment inquiry and that he “wouldn’t do it based on me.” Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Trump has rebuked the Biden family’s behavior in public. In June, Trump vowed to appoint a “real special prosecutor” to target Biden if he returns to the White House in 2024.
“I will appoint a special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Trump promised at the time in a video message.
His statement came after a trial in Miami for the then 37 — now 40 — indictment against him for allegedly hiding classified documents.
NBC News moderator Kristen Welker pressed Trump on whether he wants to appoint an attorney general who “will prosecute the people you tell them to prosecute.”
Trump has promised to appoint a “real special prosecutor” to target Biden.
He expressed his pledge for “retribution” at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, DC, in National Harbor, Maryland, earlier this year.
“I am looking to appoint an attorney general who will be tough on crime and fair,” Trump replied.
Notably, Trump promised to name a special prosecutor to go after Hillary Clinton during the second 2016 presidential debate, but that never materialized.
Welker’s interview with Trump came on his first day anchoring “Meet the Press” as the marquee show’s new host.
His predecessor Chuck Todd hosted his last show on September 10. With Welker taking over NBC, every major Sunday morning political news show is now either hosted or co-hosted by a female anchor.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
