Joe Biden is the target of an impeachment inquiry opened by Congress

Members of the Republican-dominated US House of Representatives voted this Wednesday, December 13, 2023, to begin an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden.

The US Congress on Wednesday approved the formal opening of an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, fueled by the president’s son’s controversial affairs abroad but deemed by Democrats to be completely baseless.

The practice is unlikely to succeed, but could become a headache for the White House ahead of the presidential election in November 2024, for which Joe Biden is a candidate.

Republicans accuse Democratic President Barack Obama of using his influence as vice president (2009-2017) to allow his son to do dubious business in China and Ukraine.

“Joe Biden lied to the American people over and over again,” James Comer, chairman of the House Investigations Committee, charged from the chamber.

Hunter Biden insists his father was “never involved” in his affairs

The president, Democrats and his son vehemently deny the allegations. During a rare press conference on Wednesday, Hunter Biden, who has become a prime target of the alt-right, said, “My father was never financially involved in my affairs.

Appearing before the US Congress, the fifty-year-old admitted that he had made “mistakes” in his life, with a past as a slave and indicted by the courts in two cases. But he accused “Trumpists” of trying to “dehumanize” him and “harm” his father. For this reason, he refused to participate in a closed-door hearing organized by Republicans, who invited him to appear at the Capitol on Wednesday.

The 81-year-old president has always publicly supported his son, often repeating that he is “proud” of him.

“No evidence” according to Democrats

An impeachment inquiry, long sought by elected officials close to Donald Trump, had already opened against Joe Biden over the summer. The first parliamentary hearing on the matter was even organized at the end of September, during which the experts interviewed agreed that there is currently nothing to justify the accusation against President Biden.

“There is no evidence that President Biden did anything wrong,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday.

Republicans, however, hope that the formal opening of the investigation, approved only by their vote, will give them additional powers and therefore new opportunities to impeach the Democratic leader.

“It’s time to give the American people answers,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said Wednesday.

Is dismissal possible?

The U.S. Constitution provides that Congress can impeach the president for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The process takes place in two stages.

After conducting its investigation, the House of Representatives voted by a simple majority on the articles of impeachment detailing the facts alleged against the President: what is called “impeachment” in English.

If the impeachment vote is passed, the Senate, the upper house of Congress, will impeach the president. However, since Joe Biden’s party has a majority in this chamber, he will be acquitted.

Never in American history has a president been impeached. Three have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021. But all were eventually released. Richard Nixon wanted to resign in 1974 to avoid some congressional impeachment because of the Watergate scandal.