House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has revealed that he would seek a vote on the House floor to open an impeachment inquiry against President Biden if he decides to pursue such a course of action.
McCarthy said that he would not take the matter lightly or use it for political gain, but rather respect the voice of the American people through their elected representatives.
“That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person,” McCarthy told Breitbart News on Friday.
The House Speaker said that the impeachment inquiry would be based on serious allegations of corruption involving the president and his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, which could amount to “high crimes and misdemeanors”. He said that the House Republicans would need to see the documents related to the Bidens’ activities before making a final decision.
“The thing that holds up whether we do impeachment inquiry, provide us the documents we’re asking,” McCarthy quoted to Fox Business host Larry Kudlow last week.
“The whole determination here is how the Bidens handled this.”
“If they provide us the documents, there wouldn’t be a need for an impeachment inquiry. But if they withhold the documents and fight like they have now to not provide to the American public what they deserve to know, we will move forward with impeachment inquiry when we come back into session,” he added.
An impeachment inquiry would give the House the power to subpoena witnesses and documents related to its investigation. It would require at least 218 votes in favor to pass, which means that no Democrats and no more than four Republicans could oppose it.
McCarthy’s approach differs from that of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who launched an impeachment inquiry into former President Trump in 2019 without a full House vote. Pelosi announced that six House committees would conduct an impeachment inquiry into Trump over his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he allegedly pressured him to investigate the Bidens.
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Since January, five resolutions have been introduced by Republican lawmakers seeking to impeach Biden for various reasons, including his handling of the immigration crisis and his alleged interference with congressional and judicial probes into his family’s business schemes.
McCarthy hinted that he could initiate an impeachment inquiry into Biden when the House reconvenes on Sept. 12. He said that he would do so only if the Bidens failed to cooperate and disclose the truth to the public.
