Could Joe Biden Be Impeached for ‘Misdeeds’ Committed Prior to His Presidency? – Last week, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said that Republican lawmakers may consider an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden over his involvement in the business dealings of his son.
That isn’t actually huge or even breaking news – and talk of impeachment has been ongoing since before the GOP took control of the House of Representatives following the mid-term elections.
However, what is notable is that the congressional lawmakers may initiate the use of the constitutional tools for the alleged high crimes and misdemeanors that may have transpired before Biden took the office of the presidency.
The question being asked now is whether this is even within the powers of Congress.
“The answer is clear,” Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz told Fox News Digital last week. “No one laws.”
To suggest that we’re in uncharted waters is truly an understatement, one that could set up all sorts of legal challenges.
Article II, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution states: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Yet, it doesn’t specify whether any of those alleged actions actually need to take place during the time the official holds the office.
“The crucial impeachment language in the Constitution is not limited to ‘high Crimes and Misdemeanors’ committed while ‘in office,'” senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation Hans A. von Spakovsky also told Fox News Digital. “That language is not there.”
Laurence Tribe, professor of constitutional law emeritus at Harvard University, interpreted the law differently and told Fox News that the alleged abuse should take place while the president is in office.
“It has to be an abuse of office – there is just no question about that much,” Tribe explained, adding that impeachment is “about the abuse of power” and further suggested that, in the future, we are “bound to have presidents who use the presidency for personal benefits rather than benefits of the people.”
Impeachment Has Been Politicized?
Even some GOP lawmakers see that any attempt by Congress to move forward with an impeachment is little more than political theater, and is essentially payback for the two impeachments brought against former President Donald Trump.
“I’ll say what I’ve said before, and that is I think the best way to change the presidency is win the election. And that means looking forward, not backward,” South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican told the Associated Press.
New Hampshire’s GOP Governor Chris Sununu also suggested that the investigations into the Biden family need to “play out in court” before congressional Republicans move forward with any impeachment-related proceedings.
“We have to find out what all the evidence is,” Sununu said in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” on Sunday morning. “If found guilty, yes, I think Congress should definitely take something up.”
Joe Biden Responds
President Biden fired back on Friday during a visit to Maine to tout the state’s low employment.
“Republicans may have to find something else to criticize me for now that inflation is coming down. Maybe they’ll decide to impeach me because it’s coming down,” Biden told reporters. “I don’t know. I’d love that one.”
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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