This impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden is nothing but a revenge ploy by the fringe of far-right extremist Republicans in the House of Representatives. The modern impeachment inquiries of former Presidents Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump all had something in common: There was credibility behind the evidence that was presented—something that is lacking in the supposed wrongdoings of Biden.
Following months of troubled attempts in Congress to find agreements, lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill only to find a looming government shutdown amid internal disputes about whether to go forward with an inquiry into Biden.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, opened this investigation to appease his far-right colleagues in the House after continuous threats of his removal as Speaker. Their fury over big spending and an inability to make agreements is linked to a looming government shutdown at the end of the month. This pressure has been bubbling up ever since January, when only after making agreements with the ultraconservatives of the House was McCarthy able to be elected Speaker after 15 ballots.
According to Reuters, some of these accusations come on the basis of the following: Biden having supposedly profited from his son, Hunter Biden’s, business dealings and pressuring Ukraine into removal of a former Prosecutor General—both while he was vice president—as well as claims of political interference in Hunter’s federal investigation. However, there has not been any evidence of criminality on the part of Biden himself.
The inquiry builds on the encouragement of former President Trump, who has publicly and privately encouraged House Republicans, according to CNN. Some of these have included a phone call with Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, and dinner with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA. “However, multiple sources said that whether he was forcing the issue or not, the impeachment was inevitably linked to Trump,” the CNN article reported. In the same article, Rep. Ken Buck, R-CO, said, “When President Trump speaks, there’s a whole a lot of activists that get on board and the activists make their members aware of that. And so directly or indirectly, this impeachment inquiry was a result of President Trump’s pressure.” Republicans are not looking for the truth, but a political advantage. Following four criminal indictments amounting to a whopping 91 felony charges and two impeachments during his tenure, the hard-right loyalists of Trump are fixated on enacting revenge for their leader.
When Greene took to X, formerly known as Twitter, as she often does, to spout rhetoric for her followers to gobble up, she restated her pledge to not vote to fund the government if Congress does not go forward with voting on the impeachment inquiry into Biden. Furthermore, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL, took to the House floor to criticize McCarthy and threaten his removal for his inability to comply with the demands of rejecting budget resolutions and investigating the Biden family’s alleged criminality, per C-SPAN.
Meanwhile, Biden brushed off the inquiry, expressing his understanding of the investigation as a part of their desire to shut down the government, as reported by AP News.
However, some Republicans are really convinced that Biden has done something wrong, despite an inability to present concrete evidence. During a House Freedom Caucus press conference, Rep. Scott Perry, R-PA, provided a heartfelt and angry, yet evidence-free, response to a reporter’s question about actual evidence, rather than just allegations, that would warrant an impeachment inquiry, as seen in footage produced by C-SPAN.
The search for incriminating evidence is not new. During Biden’s tenure, there have been multiple efforts by members of the GOP to impeach him. Just this past May, Greene introduced another article of impeachment against Biden for his handling of migration at the southern border, after having made many other attempts. Greene is the same person who submitted the first impeachment resolution on the first full day of Biden’s presidency, so a question of legitimacy is evident. From a House Republican report in May, after months of investigations, there was no proof of misconduct, according to The New York Times.
To date, they have found nothing. Republicans have only used these claims to distract the public from their glorious leader’s fall from power. Sure, maybe evidence can be found, but for now, as reported by NPR, “House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has defended launching the impeachment inquiry in the absence of hard evidence, saying that finding evidence is the point of the inquiry.” This might be their best bet in finding wrongdoings of Biden, and some GOP officials may be hoping that taking the next step with an impeachment inquiry will intensify the search for evidence that does not exist.
The immense contradictions of the Republican Party’s dysfunctionality are evident once again. In 2019 when Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House, brought about the first impeachment inquiry of Trump, McCarthy, who at the time was the minority leader, claimed on X that “Speaker Pelosi can’t decide on impeachment unilaterally. It requires a full vote of the House of Representatives.” Pelosi did eventually have an entire House vote, but McCarthy does not have the votes to do the same with Biden.
If solid evidence of misconduct and wrongdoings existed, in line with what existed for the previously investigated presidents, then proceeding forward with impeachment would be absolutely appropriate. However, in the absence of evidence, an inquiry is an abuse of power. Trump’s far-right fringe is exploiting the power they hold for their own gain and attempting to shut down the government as part of their revengeful ploy.