The US House of Representatives has formalized an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with the vote passing on partisan lines. Specifically, 221 Republican lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution while 212 Democrats voted against it. This move signifies an escalation of proceedings initiated by the former Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who initially opened the impeachment inquiry into Biden in September without a vote of the whole House.
In conjunction with formalizing the inquiry, House Republicans announced that multiple House committees would persist with investigations into whether sufficient grounds exist for impeachment. Investigations will center around allegations of foreign money received by the Biden family, Biden’s involvement in his family’s foreign business, and possible attempts by the Biden administration to obstruct the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden. Despite these claims, evidence uncovered so far has failed to substantiate these allegations.
Amid the impeachment proceedings, President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has also refuted allegations, asserting that his father was not financially implicated in his business activities. Hunter Biden, who currently faces two criminal charges, has been non-compliant in a house subpoena.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre essentially refuted the allegations against President Biden, highlighting that documents and witness testimonies provided to the investigators have repeatedly contended the false allegations.
According to the US Constitution, impeachable offenses include treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. This resolution marks the fourth impeachment of a US president, following Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump, who was impeached twice, once in 2019 and again in 2021. However, no president has yet been removed from their position as a result of impeachment.
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