President Joe Biden explained why Republicans want to impeach him just a day after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a formal impeachment inquiry into the president.
McCarthy ordered the Republican Party to open a formal impeachment inquiry into Biden over his conduct as vice president on Tuesday. During a campaign reception in Virginia, Biden said Republicans are trying to impeach him in an effort to shut down the government. (RELATED: ‘Incredibly Inappropriate’: KJP Snaps At Reporter Interrupting Her About Biden Impeachment Inquiry)
“Well, I tell you what, I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me,” Biden said. “And now, the best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.”
Biden included that Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been trying to get the Republican Party to open an impeachment inquiry into him since his first day in office.
“So look, look, I got a job to do. Everybody always asked about impeachment. I get up every day, not a joke, not focused on impeachment. I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single solitary day,” Biden continued.
REPORTER: “Will the President cooperate fully now that SPeaker McCarthy has pulled the trigger on impeachment inquiry?”
JEAN-PIERRE: “Not going to speculate on what has been a baseless inquiry.” pic.twitter.com/zvSzWkRJVF
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 13, 2023
McCarthy first discussed in August opening an impeachment inquiry if the Department of Justice (DOJ) manipulated David Weiss’s position as special counsel to ultimately block a House Oversight Committee investigation into Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden pled not guilty in July to two tax misdemeanors after his plea deal and diversion agreement collapsed under the scrutiny of U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, which caused disagreement between Hunter Biden’s legal team and the DOJ.
House Republicans were expected to vote on an impeachment inquiry into Biden, but McCarthy’s Tuesday announcement did not discuss such a measure.
Following McCarthy’s announcement, the White House began planning to direct all major outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, the Associated Press and CBS News, to cover the impeachment inquiry with “scrutiny,” according to a draft of the letter obtained by CNN. The impeachment inquiry should “set off alarm bells for news organizations,” the draft of the letter to news outlets reads, according to CNN.
“Certainly not going to speculate on what has been a baseless inquiry that the House Republicans can’t even defend themselves and that many House Republicans have said, they have said that they couldn’t support their own votes, So again I am going to refer you to my White House counsel on any specifics,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said after being asked about the impeachment inquiry.