Washington, DC (EFE).- Eduard Ribas i Admetlla
Republicans in the US House of Representatives launched an impeachment trial against President Joe Biden on Thursday for an alleged family corruption network. However, it has no chance of succeeding since they do not have a majority in the Senate.
Conservatives accuse Biden of using his influence when he was vice president of the United States in the Government of Barack Obama (2009-2017) to help his son Hunter Biden and other relatives in alleged irregular business with China.
However, for the Democrats, it is nothing more than a political maneuver to distract attention from the judicial siege that weighs on former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), great favorite for the Republican nomination for the 2024 elections.
The Oversight Committee of the lower House, dominated by Republicans since the November 2022 midterm elections, convened Thursday the first hearing on the investigation of the impeachment against Biden.
A trial without a majority
Congressman James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the committee, said at the beginning of the session that lawmakers have “a mountain of evidence” that would show that the now president “abused his public office for the financial benefit of his family.”
Legal experts were invited to the session to review the legal issues surrounding the investigation. Still, neither witnesses nor conclusive evidence of Biden’s relationship to the alleged corrupt dealings was presented.
The US Constitution states that the president can be removed from office in an impeachment trial if he committed “high crimes or misdemeanors.”
The Republicans maintain, however, that for now, the objective of the impeachment trial is not to remove the president from office but to expand the investigation into the alleged irregularities.
The truth is that it is not clear that the leader of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, has the support of the moderate sector of his party to dismiss Biden.
Moreover, even if impeachment were to succeed in the lower House, it would have to pass through the Senate, where the Democrats hold the majority, so its chances are nil.
Just hours before the government shutdown
This first hearing kicked off two days before the federal government ran out of funds to continue operating at midnight from September 30 to October 1 and would have to shut down, severely impacting the economy.
A group of ultra-conservative Republicans sympathetic to Trump is in total rebellion. It is reluctant to endorse a short-term solution that would fund federal agencies to keep the Administration running.
The White House warned Thursday in a statement that there are less than 60 hours left for the government shutdown, which could lead to “harmful consequences,” such as job losses, furloughing military pay, or leaving the fight against fentanyl unfunded. EFE
