House set for key vote on Biden impeachment inquiry as Republicans unite behind investigation
House Republicans are rallying behind this charged process, despite concerns from some members of the party that there is no evidence to support the allegations.
The vote is coming as House Speaker Mike Johnson, his leadership team and the House are under increasing pressure to demonstrate progress in a probe that has lasted for nearly a year. It focuses on business dealings by Biden’s relatives. Although their investigation raised ethical issues, there is no evidence that Biden has acted corruptly in his current position or as vice president.
Johnson said that the vote was “the next step” and acknowledged “there are a lot of people frustrated this hasn’t moved quicker.”
Johnson told Fox News that he believed the resolution would pass the House, and “we will be in the best possible position to fulfill our constitutional responsibility.”
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Impeachment investigation of President Biden
What does it mean and what is to come?
What is an impeachment investigation? This is a probe into possible wrongdoing on the part of a federal official such as the President of the United States or Cabinet officials.
Why do Republicans pursue it against Biden? House Republicans, since gaining control of the House in January, have been aggressively investigating Biden and Hunter, alleging without evidence that both were involved in an influence peddling scheme.
Does this mean Biden will be impeached? Not necessarily. Republicans are cautious about the term because of its political implications.
The speaker of the House, who has only been in office for less than two months now, will put his conference on record as supporting an impeachment procedure that could lead to the ultimate punishment for a President: punishment for “high crimes and felony offenses” which, if found guilty in a Senate trial, can result in removal from office.
A successful vote will also extend the investigation into impeachment well beyond 2024, when Biden is running for reelection. He’ll likely be facing former President Donald Trump who was impeached twice during his tenure in the White House. Trump has called on Republicans to impeach Biden quickly as part of his larger calls for revenge and retribution.
The White House has recently called the entire process “a baseless fishing expedition”, which Republicans are pursuing “despite the facts that members of their party have admitted that there is no evidence that supports impeaching Biden.”
Some House Republicans have been reluctant to vote on Biden’s impeachment because they fear a high political price. In recent weeks, GOP leaders have argued that the resolution was only a first step and not a decision on whether to impeach Biden. This message has won over many skeptics.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Rep. Tom Emmer of the GOP Leadership team said: “As we’ve said many times before, voting for an impeachment investigation does not mean impeachment.”
Emmer stated that Republicans will “continue to follow the facts wherever it leads, and if and only if they uncover proof of treason or bribery, or other high crimes, misdemeanors and vices, they will then consider the next steps toward impeachment procedures.”
The argument of leadership that authorizing an inquiry would give them a better legal standing when the White House refused their requests for information has also swayed most Republicans who were hesitant to support the impeachment effort.
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