The president of the House of Representatives of USARepublican Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday that he has ordered the start of a formal impeachment inquiry into the president. Joe Biden for his family’s businesses. This is the beginning of a historic process in the context of the campaign for the 2024 elections, although the prospects for it to prosper are minimal.
McCarthy He said that so far the investigations of the House of Representatives “they paint a picture of a culture of corruption” around the Biden family.
“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption”said McCarthy to the media. “They deserve further investigation by the House of Representatives. “That is why today I am directing our House to open a formal impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden.”
US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announces the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. (EFE/EPA/SHAWN THEW).
Since the beginning of this year, Republicans have been investigating the president Biden, but so far they have not found concrete evidence against him. Yet they say yes They have clues about the “questionable” businesses of their son Hunter and allege that the president had knowledge of it.
The White House on Tuesday condemned the decision McCarthy.
“The Republicans of the House of Representatives “They have been investigating the president for nine months and have found no evidence of irregularities.”wrote White House spokesman Ian Sams in a message posted on the social network X.
These are the keys to the case:
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Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, in an image from April 18, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP).
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Hunter Biden and his father
Until before the announcement of McCarthy, he House Oversight Committeechaired by the Republican James Comer, I was already investigating Biden. Now he will be in charge of the formal investigation, in coordination with the head of the Legal Affairs Commission, Jim Jordan; and the representative in charge of the Ways and Means Commission, Jason Smith.
Comer still has no evidence of irregularities by the president Biden. But it alleges that the “Biden family” and its “associates” have received more than $20 million in payments from foreign entities.
Specifically, Republicans maintain that while he was vice president (2009 – 2017), Biden personally benefited from his son Hunter’s business dealings in Ukraine.
Hunter Biden It also had business ties in China, Kazakhstan, Romania and other countries, but the republicans They are focused on their business with the Ukrainian energy company Business.
As indicated by the AFP agency, in 2014 Hunter Biden He obtained a lucrative position on the board of that company, when his father was Barack Obama’s vice president and oversaw US policy towards the country.
The owner of Burisma was Mykola Zlochevskya powerful oligarch against whom numerous accusations of corruptionboth inside and outside Ukraine.
“Although Hunter Biden He has a Yale Law degree and had some experience in business and finance, it was not clear what he could bring to the table. Business in exchange for a million dollars a year”indicates AFP.
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US President Joe Biden holds a press conference in Hanoi on September 10, 2023, the first day of a visit to Vietnam. (Photo by SAÚL LOEB / AFP).
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Prosecutor fired in Ukraine
In 2014, citizen revolts overthrew the president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.
The economic crisis that followed the uprising led the country to seek international financial aid. But a $1 billion loan from the IMF guaranteed by USA could not be approved if the new president, Petro Poroshenko, did not first take measures against the corruption.
Biden told Poroshenko that he should fire the attorney general Viktor Shokinwho allegedly protected corrupt Ukrainian oligarchs, including Zlochevskywho he worked for Hunter Biden.
Finally the prosecutor Shokin He was fired and the properties of Zlochevsky.
Now him Supervisory Committee headed by James Comer claims that Shokin was a threat to the firm Business and that the pressure of Biden he sought to protect the company and his son Hunterand benefit economically.
With the help of the FBI, the Department of Justice and witnesses, Comer found large sums of money intended for Hunter Biden and his associates, but no evidence was found that implicated the president.
In the absence of direct evidence against Bidenthe committee maintains that its investigation focuses on the “influence peddling” by President Biden.
“Joe Biden allowed his family to sell him as ‘the brand’ around the world to get rich,” the committee said.
Besides…
Who is Hunter Biden?
In August of this year, Hunter Biden53, reached a plea deal with the United States Department of Justice to avoid jail time on charges of tax evasion and illegal possession of a firearm, but the deal came to nothing due to a judge’s opposition.
Hunter is a Yale Law School graduate who alternated between jobs in government and banking before working at a family-controlled hedge fund and his own international business consultancy in the late 2000s.
His life has been marred by alcohol and crack addictions. He has also gone through rehabilitation processes.
Hunter links his addictions to the car accident in which his mother and sister died when he was three years old. He had to be hospitalized with a skull fracture.
He also lived in the shadow of his brother Beau, who had a brilliant military career and entered politics before suffering brain cancer in 2015.
Hunter wrote in his memoirs that after Beau’s death he did more drugs.
She hit rock bottom when her father stopped being vice president in 2017. Her marriage broke down and she lost custody of her three daughters.
He had a romantic affair with his sister-in-law, the widow of Beauhad a daughter with an Arkansas woman who sued him for child support and finally suffered the ridicule of seeing compromising emails and photos from his laptop published.
The Department of Justice investigated him for the millions of dollars he made from his investments abroad.
Joe Biden has always defended his son, such as during the 2020 presidential race, when Donald Trump brought up Hunter’s drug use and business dealings during a debate.
“My son, like many people (…) had a drug problem,” said the president.
“He overcame it, he fixed it, he worked on it. And I’m proud of him. I’m proud of my son,” he said.
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What does a formal investigation entail?
Once the formal investigation is opened, Republicans may request bank records and other documents related to those investigatedincluding the president.
They will also have more facilities to issue subpoenas and collect testimonies.
What’s next?
Once the investigation is completed, the House of Representatives will vote on whether to file charges against Biden. Then, the final decision to open the impeachment trial will be made by the Senate.
As indicated by the EFE agency, The United States Constitution authorizes Congress to impeach and remove the president, vice president, and other federal officials for treason, bribery or other serious crimes and misdemeanors.
For the process to advance House of Representatives must pass a resolution to impeach the president with a simple majority. This then goes to the Senate, where support from two-thirds of the senators present is required for the president to fall.
Do the votes exist to impeach Biden?
He Republican Party controls the House of Representatives with 222 of its 435 seats. That is, they have the simple majority to move forward with Biden’s impeachment trial.
But in the Senate The Democrats have 48 seats and the Republicans 49. In addition, the three independent senators are progressive. Thus, a possible dismissal of Biden It would be impossible, since two-thirds would not be reached.
A conviction implies the immediate removal of the president without the possibility of appeal to the Supreme Court. In that case the vice president replaces him.
Other impeached presidents
The Republican Richard Nixonwho governed the United States between 1969 and 1974, resigned before the House of Representatives voted against him over the scandal Watergate and thus avoided being dismissed.
The Democrat Andrew Johnson, president between 1865 and 1869, was impeached for violating a federal law during the dismissal of his Secretary of War. He was eventually acquitted by the Senate.
The Democrat Bill Clinton, president from 1993 to 2001, was impeached for lying under oath before a federal Grand Jury and for obstruction of justice in the case of intern Monica Lewinsky. He was acquitted by the Senate.
The Republican Donald Trump, president between 2017 and 2021, was impeached twice by the House of Representatives. He was charged with abuse of power and obstruction of the work of Congress, and “incitement of insurrection” for the assault on the Capitol. In both cases he was acquitted by the Senate.
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Trump and other political trials in the United States. (AFP).
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