President Joe Biden's reelection campaign slammed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) after he announced an impeachment inquiry into the president's ties to his son Hunter Biden.
McCarthy said the investigation was the "logical next step" as the House GOP has delved further into the actions of the Biden family business dealings during his Tuesday announcement. However, the Biden campaign was not swayed by McCarthy's comments.
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"As Donald Trump ramped up his demands for a baseless impeachment inquiry, Kevin McCarthy cemented his role as the Trump campaign’s super-surrogate by turning the House of Representatives into an arm of his presidential campaign," said Ammar Moussa, Joe Biden's reelection spokesman, in a statement. "11 days ago, McCarthy unequivocally said he would not move forward with an impeachment inquiry without holding a vote on the House floor. What has changed since then? Several members of the Speaker’s own conference have come out and publicly panned impeachment as a political stunt, pointing out there is no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden as Republicans litigate the same debunked conspiracy theories they’ve investigated for over four years."
Moussa referenced a Sept. 1 interview with Breitbart in which McCarthy claimed there would be a vote before launching an investigation. "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 said at the time. It doesn't appear likely there will be a floor vote on impeachment or that McCarthy has enough votes for the measure to pass.
House Republicans and Trump have repeatedly pressured McCarthy to launch an impeachment against Joe Biden and his family as Trump has faced his own legal problems. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced David Weiss as special counsel investigating Hunter Biden, allowing him to bring charges against the younger Biden. A plea deal in which Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and entered into a pretrial diversion agreement to avoid a felony gun charge fell apart in July after U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika raised questions about the details of the deal.
Although the inquiry is a win for conservative hard-liners, it could jeopardize centrist Republicans, particularly those who represent districts Joe Biden won. If impeachment were to progress to the Democratic-led Senate, it would be unlikely to lead to a dismissal. Neither Senate Democrats nor Senate Republicans appear to have the fervor as House Republicans to impeach Joe Biden.
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The Biden campaign is attempting to redirect focus on his actions on the economy and everyday issues that are likely to attract the attention of the average American.
"While MAGA Republicans spend all of their time attacking President Biden and his family, the president is working every day to make life better for American families across the country," Moussa continued. "President Biden will remain focused on the issues that matter to everyday Americans—lowering costs, growing the economy, making our communities safe, and protecting Social Security and Medicare—while he tries to bring the country together, not divide us even further.”