Sept. 12 (UPI) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday that he is ordering an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden in an effort to satisfy hardline House conservatives.
McCarthy made the statement at the U.S. Capitol in a formal announcement but did not take any questions from reporters. He said the move was necessary to obtain documents and bank records from Biden in connection with an investigation of the president’s son Hunter Biden.
“This logical next step will give our committees the full power to gather the full facts and answers for the American public,” McCarthy said. “That’s exactly what we want to know — the answers. I believe the president would want to answer these questions and allegations, as well.”
McCarthy said House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., will lead the impeachment investigation. He said it will be done in coordination with House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo.
The White House has pushed back against the inquiry, noting that McCarthy opted to investigate instead of taking a vote.
“House Republicans have been investigating the president for nine months and they’ve turned up no evidence of wrongdoing,” White House spokesman Ian Sams said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “His own GOP members have said so. He vowed to hold a vote to open impeachment. Now, he’s flip-flopped because he doesn’t have support. Extreme politics at its worst.”
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have all filed their own articles of impeachment at different times before Tuesday’s announcement.
