US House Speaker McCarthy orders an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden

Republican US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday that he has ordered a House committee to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden in relation to his family's business dealings, kicking off a historic proceeding ahead of the 2024 elections.

McCarthy said the House Oversight Committee's investigation so far has found a "culture of corruption" around the Biden family as Republicans probe the business dealings of Biden's son, Hunter Biden, prior to the president's inauguration.

“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they deserve further investigation by the House of Representatives,” McCarthy, a Republican from California, said outside the president's office at the Capitol. “That is why today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden.”

The announcement comes as the Republican leader faces growing pressure from his more conservative wing to take action against Biden, while also trying to pass legislation needed to avoid a federal government shutdown at the end of the month.

An investigation is a first step toward impeachment, and McCarthy essentially outlined the potential charges.

He is planning to convene lawmakers behind closed doors several times this week, including a meeting to discuss Biden's impeachment.

The Republican leader once again finds himself in a delicate political situation, trying to satisfy his more conservative lawmakers who already wanted impeachment. It's a familiar political situation for McCarthy, who is facing the impeachment inquiry and the threat of a government shutdown with no clear final strategy.

Government funding is expected to run out on September 30, which marks the end of the federal fiscal year, and Congress must pass new funding laws or risk a shutdown and disruption of government services.

The Biden White House has dismissed the impeachment effort as politically motivated, of course.

“Speaker McCarthy should not give in to the far right threatening to shut down the government unless he achieves a baseless and evidence-free impeachment of President Biden. The consequences for the American people are too grave,” White House spokesman Ian Sams said.

“This is a transparent effort to support Donald Trump's campaign by creating a false moral equivalence between Trump — the four-times impeached former president” and Biden, who faces “zero evidence of misconduct,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

House Republicans are investigating Hunter Biden's business dealings, but so far have produced no concrete evidence linking them to the president. They showed some cases, mainly during the time when Biden's father was Barack Obama's vice president, when he spoke on the phone with his son and attended dinners hosted by his son with business partners.

An impeachment inquiry would give more weight to the House probe, especially as it fights in court to access the Biden family's financial records.

Republicans argue the Justice Department did not fully investigate the allegations against Hunter Biden and say he received preferential treatment in what they call a favorable deal that recently collapsed. The Justice Department appointed a special prosecutor in that investigation.

“I will go where the evidence takes us,” McCarthy said.

The White House has maintained that Biden was not involved in his son's affairs. And Democrats on the Oversight Committee are fighting what they see as baseless allegations against him ahead of the 2024 elections.

Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman who leads the oversight committee, is examining the Biden family's finances and is expected to seek Hunter Biden's banking records as the committee tries to track the flow of money.

On Tuesday, Comer asked the State Department to produce documents about Biden's work as vice president during the Obama administration to fight corruption in Ukraine. Comer wants to understand the State Department's views on Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who Biden and many Western allies wanted to remove from office due to corruption allegations.