

There is also no evidence that the president ever received any money from Ukraine.īut Grassley’s move set off a new flurry of coverage critical of Biden on conservative and social media with the potential to further confuse the public. The document contained no proof of the allegations or any evidence Biden took part in his son’s work for the firm. Chuck Grassley of Iowa last week for peddling “debunked” information after he released an internal FBI document containing unverified allegations Joe Biden was involved in a foreign bribery scheme involving the Ukrainian energy company Burisma while he was vice president. Last month, he emphatically stated he was not present when his son Hunter Biden is alleged to have texted a Chinese business partner in 2017, claiming he was sitting with his father. White House has repeatedly debunked GOP accusationsīiden has denied any wrongdoing. Such a scenario would fuel fears among some historians that the process is no longer a rare constitutional remedy of last resort but is becoming a more regular partisan reflex. After only one presidential impeachment in the first two centuries of US history, Biden’s would be the fourth impeachment in around 25 years if House Republicans follow through. The prospect of a divisive impeachment battle – in the middle of an election season already reeling from Trump’s two indictments – would surely deepen political divides.


Most importantly for Trump and the House Republicans doing his bidding, it could distract from the legal storm around the former president. A Biden impeachment drama could fire up GOP base voters, please conservative media backers and create a false sense of equivalence over the conduct of Trump and Biden among some voters already exhausted by years of bitter, polarized politics. The ‘I’ word – given its constitutional connotations – immediately sent shockwaves running through Washington even as it raised the somewhat fundamental question of precisely which supposed abuses of office House Republicans, who have so far produced no concrete evidence of wrongdoing, were envisaging laying against the president.īut even if they fail to produce such evidence, Republicans may still see an advantage in moving toward impeachment during this politically volatile age when fact and reality are often superseded by what certain political leaders want to be true. Perhaps not coincidentally, McCarthy floated his impeachment trial balloon on the eve of a court appearance in which Hunter Biden is expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors in a plea arrangement that will also resolve a gun felony charge if he abides by court-imposed rules.
