McCarthy says the vote in the House of Representatives would decide whether to initiate impeachment proceedings against Biden
A vote in the House of Representatives would decide whether to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden if the House of Commons decides to move forward with an investigation in Congress, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Friday.
“Opening an impeachment investigation is a serious matter, and Republicans in the House of Representatives would not take it lightly or use it for political gain.” “The American people deserve to be heard through their elected officials on this matter,” he said McCarthy (Republican of California). said Breitbart News.
“Therefore, if we go forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would be done by a vote in the People’s House plenary and not by a statement by one person,” he added.
Opening an impeachment inquiry into the 80-year-old president would give the House of Commons the power to subpoena testimony and documents related to its investigation, which could involve corruption allegations against the president in connection with his first son Hunter Biden’s foreign operations.
A full vote on the impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives, which the Constitution does not require to open an inquiry, would require at least 218 votes in favor.
If no Democrats vote to open the investigation and more than four Republicans align themselves and oppose them, the measure would fail.
Since January, Republican lawmakers have introduced five resolutions indicting the president for “serious felonies and misdemeanors” related to his handling of the immigration crisis and his alleged efforts to protect his family’s business dealings from congressional oversight and Justice Department investigations shall be.
McCarthy’s outlined approach to launching an impeachment inquiry into Biden differs from how former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi handled former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment in 2019.
Pelosi (D-California) announced in a September 2019 proclamation that six House Committees would conduct an impeachment inquiry into Trump over his infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and chose not to hold a full House vote to approve the officially launch an investigation.
McCarthy teased last week that an impeachment inquiry into Biden related to his family’s business plans and bribery allegations could be on the table when the House of Representatives returns to session on Sept. 12.
“Whether we conduct an impeachment investigation is dependent on providing ourselves with the documents we’re asking for,” McCarthy told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow. “All the resolve here depends on how the Bidens handled it.”
“If they provided us with the documents, there would be no need for an impeachment investigation. But if they withhold the documents and continue to fight to not provide the American public with what they need to know, we will proceed with the impeachment inquiry when we get back into session,” the House Speaker added.
