Topline
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Tuesday due to repeatedly unproven allegations of involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, though his potential removal from office is an extraordinary unlikely prospect given Democrats control the Senate, which is responsible for holding impeachment trials.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced the start of an impeachment inquiry against … [+]
Key Facts
McCarthy approved for the House Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means Committees to formally investigate claims around Biden’s relations to his son’s business associations.
The House of Representatives is responsible for investigating the claims—determining whether they rise to charges of high crimes or misdemeanors—and deciding whether to then bring articles of impeachment against federal officials.
It is likely that Biden could receive articles of impeachment considering the House is led by Republicans, some of whom on the hard-right have spearheaded probes into the Biden family, claim to have the evidence needed to impeach the president and have threatened McCarthy’s ousting if he refuses to support the impeachment.
If a majority of the House does vote to impeach Biden, they will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, which will hear the case for impeachment in a trial and vote to either convict or acquit the president, with a two-thirds majority vote needed for conviction, which would result in his removal from office.
Both Republican and Democratic senators have cast doubt on the prospect of convicting Biden in the Senate, with some calling it absurd, unlikely to happen and not in Americans’ best interest, making the likelihood of Biden’s removal from office very slim.
Key Background
The House committees have launched an impeachment inquiry into Biden based on allegations that the president interacted with his son’s business partners. Among the most salacious claims are that the Biden family accepted bribes to remove a Ukrainian corruption prosecutor. The bribery claim has not been confirmed, and the president has repeatedly denied engaging in business with his son’s business partners or any other wrongdoing. Biden family members, though not Joe Biden specifically, reportedly received money from foreign entities, and a business partner of Hunter Biden’s admitted the president and his son only engaged in casual conversations, not particularly business, when they spoke. There have been 21 impeachment trials of federal officials in U.S. history. Seven of those officials were found guilty and removed from office. Of the 21 trials, four involved impeached presidents, and none of them were found guilty or removed.
Further Reading
Biden Impeachment Inquiry: All The Allegations Against The President Leveled By House GOP, Explained (Forbes)
Far-Right Gaetz Slams McCarthy Over ‘Baby Step’ Biden Impeachment Probe (Forbes)
GOP Launches Impeachment Inquiry Into Biden. Here’s What That Means. (Forbes)
Most Americans Believe Biden Meddled In His Son Hunter’s Business Dealings, Poll Finds (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/darreonnadavis/2023/09/13/could-biden-really-be-impeached-maybe-but-he-likely-wont-be-removed/