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Biden’s Impeachment and McCarthy’s Long Shot
14-09-2023 | 08:51
المصدر: النهار - Wajih R. Jamal
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy opened an impeachment inquiry into president Joe Biden and his family on suspicion of financial wrongdoings or corruption.
While a statesman move on the surface, the inquiry comes after mounting evidence that the far-right Republicans, spearheaded by House Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, are looking to oust Speaker McCarthy using the agreement that got him into the Speaker position following the 2022 midterm elections which gave a very slim majority to the Republican party in the House of Representatives, which gives any member the right and power to call for a vote to remove the Speaker.
"Mr. Speaker, you are out of compliance with the agreement that allowed you to assume this role. The path forward … is to either bring you into immediate, total compliance or remove you" said Gaetz to Speaker McCarthy in a speech on Tuesday.
This push from hardliners comes due to their conviction that Speaker McCarthy failed to accomplish crucial points the agreement stated, among which are the term limits, balanced budget, a subpoena of Hunter Biden, and the release of all videos of the January 6th attacks in full.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, on the other hand, has been the most outspoken backer of a Biden impeachment since taking office. Her demands to bring forward an impeachment inquiry came to no surprise to some of her colleagues in the House, but a significant number of prominent republicans oppose this move.
“The time for impeachment is the time when there’s evidence, if there’s evidence, linking President Biden to a high crime or misdemeanor… that doesn’t exist right now” said Republican congressman Ken Buck in response to Greene’s consistent attempts to bring forward an impeachment inquiry.
Speaker McCarthy is intent on tasking the Oversight, Judicial, and Ways and Means committees with the impeachment inquiry. Admitting the months of investigations have found no evidence to warrant an impeachment, the Republicans claim the evidence they do possess calls for further investigation into President Biden and his family’s financial records.
“House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct” Mr. McCarthy said. “Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.”
More Republicans have come out in opposition to the impeachment inquiry, including presidential candidate and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
I don't see evidence yet that would support impeaching Biden, and I think we're cheapening impeachment by doing that kind of thing” Christie said in an MSNBC interview on Tuesday.
Looking at the case closer, the Speaker’s efforts are even more of a losing case than initial appearances. While the constitution gives congress the right to impeach a president for treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors, a majority of the House of Representatives is required to approve the articles of impeachment and start a trial in the Senate, in which the conviction would require two thirds of the votes in order to remove a sitting president.
Speaker McCarthy does, in theory, control a majority in the House. Nevertheless, that theoretical majority translates poorly on the ground, particularly in more divisive cases within the Republican party, which is what this is turning into. Additionally, the Democrats currently hold a majority in the Senate, which would make a conviction impossible for the Republican hardliners.
In the meantime, Kevin McCarthy faces a dilemma; impeach the president or be ousted. This guarantees interesting developments over the coming days.
