According to the New York Times, on the 13th local time, the U.S. House of Representatives officially authorized an impeachment inquiry against U.S. President Joe Biden. The bill passed by 221 votes to 212, with Republicans unanimously in favor and Democrats unanimously opposed.
House Speaker Mike Johnson voted in the House to officially launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden Source: AP
An "impeachment inquiry" was launched against US President Joe Biden. The proposal received full support from Republicans, the majority in the House of Representatives, who accused Biden of being involved in his son Hunter's controversial business activities abroad.
Biden responded: It's just a baseless political stunt
According to CNN, Biden said that the U.S. House of Representatives focused on "lying attacks" against him. In a statement issued by the White House, Biden called the impeachment inquiry a "baseless political stunt." While there is no evidence of alleged corruption during Biden's previous vice presidency and current presidency, House Republicans remain obsessed with attacking Biden.
Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden Source: American "Politico" (POLITICO)
The Republican Party has long investigated the business practices of Biden and his family, and in particular, hopes to find evidence of Biden's corruption and warrant impeachment from the business activities of his son Hunter Biden. The Republican investigation is focused on whether Biden's son, Hunter Biden, has business dealings with Ukraine, Russia and other countries related to his father's public office. Previously, the New York Post, a local media in the United States, said in a report in October 2020 that it had obtained a large amount of information in the hard drive of Hunter's personal computer. Some of the information shows that Hunter had worked for a Ukrainian gas and energy company that had been linked to his father, Biden, for the benefit of the company. In addition to the above information, the New York Post also claimed to have found some of Hunter's drug-using videos and indecent videos in the hard drive. But more than three years have passed, and the relevant business information involved in the hard drive does not prove that Biden is indeed involved in corruption, and the indecent video can only prove that Hunter has a personal misdemeanor, and does not constitute a threat to the current President Biden's political career.
Mike Johnson, a Republican who speaks of the U.S. House of Representatives, said, "We will not take our responsibilities lightly, let alone draw conclusions about the investigation in advance, but the relevant evidence cannot be ignored."
The fierce fighting between the two parties intensifies, and impeachment becomes a "tool"?
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously rejected the proposal to impeach President Joe Biden, saying it was a "political farce" aimed at Republicans trying to retaliate on behalf of former Republican President Donald Trump for impeachment by Democrats. "The whole thing is an extreme political stunt, it has no credibility, it has no legitimacy, it is not honest, it is a farce. Democrat Jim McGovern responded during a live debate in the House of Representatives.
Rep. James Comer (left) of Kentucky and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio (right) lead the Republican impeachment inquiry Source: New York Times
There are observations that the Republican attempt to bring down Biden is almost doomed to fail. Even if the House of Representatives approves impeachment proceedings against Biden, the proposal must receive a two-thirds majority in the Senate. At present, the Democrats hold a slim 51-49 advantage in the Senate, and the impeachment proposal has almost no chance in the Senate.
In fact, impeachment has become a weapon used by both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States to slander their opponents before the election campaign. Even if Republicans can't produce valid evidence, they want to use the impeachment inquiry to attract media attention and discredit their opponents in the 2024 presidential race.
According to Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao, citing a CNN poll, the investigation has caused damage to Biden's personal image. Sixty-one percent of Americans believe Biden is at least partly involved in Hunter Biden's business dealings with countries like Ukraine. Philip Bobbitt, a law professor at Columbia University and a scholar of constitutional law, worries that the United States will accelerate towards a vicious cycle of impeachment becoming a "villain", "I think the future is like this, I think impeachment will be used as a marketing tool, an advertising tool, a way to raise money, a way to motivate voters and a way to discredit incumbents." I think it's a terrible step for the country. ”
Biden's road to re-election is full of thorns
The American people oppose Biden's excessive favoritism towards Israel on the Palestinian-Israeli issue Source: Associated Press
According to the latest poll by the Wall Street Journal, US President Joe Biden's approval rating has hit a new low in office, with only 37% of respondents still supporting Biden. If the election starts immediately, Biden will lose 37% of the vote to Trump, who has 47% of the vote. According to the report, Biden's excessive diplomatic favoritism towards Israel has led to Muslim groups in several key states having announced that they no longer support Biden, and at least a third of Democrats have also distanced themselves from Biden. In this context, the impeachment inquiry initiated by the Republican Party has undoubtedly made Biden's road to re-election more difficult.
Biden's son, Hunter Biden, who is being targeted by Republicans, is not having a good time, and he is currently facing nine tax violation charges and suspected illegal gun possession. On the 13th of this month, he ignored the subpoena of the House Oversight Committee and refused to testify to the House behind closed doors about overseas business transactions, saying that his father, current President Joe Biden, was not involved in the deals.
The House Oversight Committee has threatened that Hunter will face charges of contempt of Congress. Hunter said he was concerned that the Republican Party would take things out of context and only publish content that would benefit the Republican Party, so he refused to testify behind closed doors and asked to testify publicly. The move has already been rejected by Republicans.
Source丨The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal
Author丨Yang Zhaoyuan, the chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News
Editor丨Yu Zhemin, editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News