Joe Biden impeachment inquiry does not have broad support: With Republicans possibly preparing to launch an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden this fall, such an impeachment isn’t supported by nearly as many voters as Donald Trump’s was.
Impeach Joe Biden?
After two and a half years of Republicans launching long-shot resolutions to impeach President Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has expressed openness to launching an impeachment inquiry this fall. The speaker has been clear with his caucus that supporting an inquiry does not equal impeachment itself, but it still appears that impeachment will, to some degree, be on the agenda this fall.
Why would Biden be impeached? Unlike, well, every other potential presidential impeachment in U.S. history, the president is not accused of any central crime. It appears it has to do with Hunter Biden’s business deals overseas, the as-yet-unproven notion that the president was involved with those deals, and the even thinner allegation that the president accepted a bribe of $5 million from Ukraine. Most of the earlier resolutions, meanwhile, centered on Biden’s border policies.
McCarthy, this week, implied that the inquiry will be launched unless the president hands over his bank statements.
“Show us where the money went. Show us, were you taking money from outside sources?” McCarthy said in a Fox News interview. “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.”
What Do the Polls Say?
Do voters believe that Biden should face the threat of impeachment? Those in the GOP base appear to, but it doesn’t appear that’s the case among the general electorate.
The Washington Post, this week, looked at polling of that question.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 51 percent of Americans believe that Hunter Biden’s legal issues are “independent of and unrelated to” his father’s service as president. Ipsos also found that 39 percent of those surveyed support a Biden impeachment inquiry while 38 percent oppose it. That’s such fewer than supported Donald Trump’s first impeachment inquiry, although his second happened too quickly for much polling to take place before it happened.
“Clearly, the consensus just isn’t there for a Biden impeachment inquiry in the way it was for Trump. But that doesn’t mean Republicans won’t try to force the issue,” the Post said.
Philip Bump, this week, also in the Post, wrote about the potential impeachment, with the headline “Biden may soon face impeachment for [reason TBD].” Bump argued about weaknesses in the case for an impeachment inquiry.
“One is that it conflates Joe-Biden-as-president (‘the Biden administration’) with Joe-Biden-as-person-who-has-
Bump noted that the Republicans probing Biden have yet to discover a smoking gun of any kind.
“Comer has tried to draw a line between Hunter Biden’s business and Joe Biden for months, without pause — or success,” he wrote. “He has repeatedly presented allegations that incrementally expand the public’s awareness of how Hunter Biden’s engagements were structured and the partners who provided him funding or other assets. But he has also repeatedly been unable to show how these benefits were shared with the president.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy reportedly signed on earlier this summer to a plan to “expunge” Trump’s two impeachments, reportedly following a promise he made to Trump himself, who was upset that McCarthy had not yet endorsed in the presidential race.
“They could pass expungements, reversals, nullifications, apologies, pardons, and valentines to Donald Trump, but it makes no difference,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said earlier this month.
Author Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Stephen has authored thousands of articles over the years that focus on politics, technology, and the economy for over a decade. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
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