{"id":1983873,"date":"2023-07-27T05:52:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T09:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-investigation-pros-and-cons-of-a-house-impeachment-inquiry\/"},"modified":"2023-07-27T06:01:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T10:01:05","slug":"hunter-biden-investigation-pros-and-cons-of-a-house-impeachment-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-investigation-pros-and-cons-of-a-house-impeachment-inquiry\/","title":{"rendered":"Pros and cons of House impeachment inquiry into Hunter Biden investigation."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhunter-biden-investigation-pros-and-cons-of-a-house-impeachment-inquiry%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1983873&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Opens \u2062Door to Impeachment Inquiry of President\u2064 Joe \u2064Biden<\/h2>\n<p>House Speaker Kevin McCarthy\u2019s\u200c (R-CA) decision to open the \u2064door to \u200dan impeachment\u200c inquiry of \u200dPresident\u200c Joe Biden\u2062 marks an \u2062aggressive step\u200d in GOP lawmakers\u2019 investigations\u2063 \u2014 as well\u200c as\u2063 a potentially\u200d risky\u2062 gambit ahead of an election.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy first said Monday evening that enough evidence implicating Joe Biden in the foreign business\u200c dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, had emerged to warrant consideration of an impeachment inquiry.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HUNTER BIDEN PLEA: FOREIGN AGENT \u200cREVELATION HELPS UNRAVEL \u200b&#8217;SWEETHEART&#8217; DEAL<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He doubled\u2064 down Tuesday on the plan, suggesting\u2063 that an impeachment\u200b inquiry could serve as a response in\u200b the event more \u2062information emerges\u2062 to suggest impropriety by Biden or the\u2063 Department of Justice\u200c investigating\u2064 his family.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200dcollapse Wednesday of\u2064 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-rejects-plea-deal-for-ahmaud-arbery-killer\/\" title=\"Judge Rejects Plea Deal For Ahmaud Arbery Killer\">plea deal prosecutors<\/a> had offered to Hunter Biden could \u200cdeepen GOP \u2064interest in the case.<\/p>\n<p>The deal began to unravel when the presiding judge asked questions about\u200b whether the investigation into Hunter Biden\u2019s foreign business\u200c dealings remained\u200b ongoing, and the Justice\u2062 Department acknowledged that it was.<\/p>\n<p>Hunter Biden\u2019s attorneys appeared to \u2064object to\u200c the idea that their client could face any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-says-hunter-investigation-handled-independently-after-judge-rejects-dojs-favorable-plea-deal\/\" title=\"White House claims Hunter investigation 'handled independently' despite DOJ's plea deal rejection.\">future criminal charges<\/a>, \u200cleading to the rejection of \u2064the \u2063deal.<\/p>\n<p>That \u200da\u2063 judge questioned the constitutionality of charges offered by prosecutors \u2063already accused of misconduct could give Republicans even more credibility in their \u2063quest to investigate the DOJ.<\/p>\n<h3>Here are \u2064the pros and cons of a Biden impeachment inquiry.<\/h3>\n<h3>PRO: \u2064MORE TOOLS AVAILABLE<\/h3>\n<p>Opening an impeachment inquiry,\u2063 which McCarthy can technically \u200ddo without a full vote of the House, would provide lawmakers with more tools to seek\u200d answers \u2062from the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p>An\u200c impeachment inquiry \u200dcould increase subpoena power and override more of the government\u2019s roadblocks to congressional oversight. House Republicans have faced many such\u200d roadblocks \u200cso far; they threatened to hold FBI \u200cDirector Chris Wray in \u200bcontempt of Congress in recent weeks \u200cover the bureau\u2019s refusal to hand over a key \u200bdocument, for \u2064example.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to launch\u2063 an impeachment inquiry could also unlock funding to hire \u2062extra staff who \u200bcan help \u200cprocess the evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Justice\u2063 Department \u200dofficials have\u2063 found ways to stonewall much \u200cof the GOP\u2019s investigation \u200cso far. They have declined to make witnesses\u200d available, withheld documents, and refused to \u200canswer questions about how the \u200cU.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Delaware handled the yearslong investigation.<\/p>\n<p>But the\u2063 DOJ would \u2063find\u200b it more difficult to avoid cooperating with Republicans in the context \u2064of an \u200cimpeachment inquiry.<\/p>\n<h3>PRO: FORCES DEMOCRATIC\u2062 HANDS<\/h3>\n<p>Many congressional Democrats have managed to \u200cget \u200bthrough the past seven months of GOP investigations without having to\u200d comment\u200d on the evidence implicating Hunter Biden and,\u2063 increasingly, \u200chis father.<\/p>\n<p>When they have weighed in, they\u2019ve often deferred to U.S. Attorney David Weiss, citing his nomination by former President\u2063 Donald Trump\u200b and the ongoing nature of\u2064 the investigation into Hunter \u2062Biden.<\/p>\n<p>That\u200d approach became far\u200d less credible on\u2064 Wednesday when a federal judge criticized the unusually lenient structure\u2063 of Hunter Biden\u2019s plea bargain and got the Justice Department to admit it was investigating the president\u2019s son for potential\u200b foreign\u200b lobbying\u2064 crimes. Democrats may find it \u200cmore difficult to point \u2064to Weiss\u2019s independence after the stunning development \u2063this week.<\/p>\n<p>An impeachment inquiry would force \u2062Democratic\u2064 lawmakers to contend \u2064with the substance of the allegations against the Biden family.<\/p>\n<p>The proceedings \u2062would involve detailed hearings and \u200bmemos laying out the \u200dweb of shell companies used by the \u200dBiden family to\u200d collect foreign \u2062payments, the unregistered lobbying\u200c work \u200cHunter Biden did\u2062 for foreign businesses while his father was in office, and the steps \u2062the Justice Department\u2064 took \u200dto smother\u200b any efforts to look into those things.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most importantly, it would force Joe Biden\u2019s hand as well.<\/p>\n<p>The White House has remained staunchly tight-lipped about the extent of Joe Biden\u2019s involvement in his son\u2019s\u2063 business affairs. Spokespeople have quietly shifted away from denying that the president ever discussed business\u200c with his son in light of evidence that he did, \u200bfrequently, \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-hunter-biden-and-parental-love\/\" title=\"Joe and Hunter Biden: A Tale of Love\">discuss business matters<\/a> and begun denying only that Joe Biden was in business with \u200bHunter Biden.<\/p>\n<p>But an \u2064impeachment inquiry would require the White House to craft a factual, \u2064not just rhetorical, defense \u200cof Joe Biden. And\u2062 that could force Joe Biden\u2019s aides \u2064to acknowledge \u2063that, during the 2020\u2062 campaign, Joe Biden lied about the extent\u2062 of\u2064 his\u2062 contacts\u2064 with Hunter Biden\u2019s\u2062 business \u200bassociates.<\/p>\n<h3>PRO: SETS A TIMER<\/h3>\n<p>In the seven months since Republicans assumed control of\u200d the House, Biden administration agencies have\u200d largely\u200d succeeded \u2063in slow-walking many of the investigations\u200d various committees have \u2063launched.<\/p>\n<p>Time is often the side of federal agencies, which \u200bcan erect endless bureaucratic walls around documents or testimony they\u2063 don\u2019t want\u200d Congress to \u2063have.<\/p>\n<p>Impeachment inquiries tend\u200b to move quickly \u2062and override the\u2062 concerns federal officials raise.<\/p>\n<p>The first\u2064 impeachment inquiry of Trump, for example, began \u200dand ended in \u200btwo\u2064 months and still \u2064involved interviews with \u2062more \u200bthan a dozen witnesses,\u200b the review of stacks of\u2064 documents, and the release of a 300-page report.<\/p>\n<p>Whistleblower testimony has\u200d revealed that the criminal investigation \u2064of \u2064Hunter Biden \u200dbegan in at least\u200d 2018. Two IRS agents on the\u200c case claim friendly prosecutors have\u200c dragged the case out\u2064 for five\u200b years.<\/p>\n<p>An impeachment inquiry could finally set \u2063a deadline for resolving the question\u2062 of whether \u2064Hunter Biden committed \u2064crimes in which his father was involved, \u2063either\u2063 directly\u200c or through the crime of arranging\u2064 the \u2064Justice Department to \u2064cover for his son.<\/p>\n<h3>CON: RALLY AROUND \u200dTHE\u2063 CHIEF<\/h3>\n<p>An aggressive inquiry into the Biden family could backfire by \u200ccreating \u2063an incentive \u2062for skeptical voters and elected \u200bDemocrats\u200d to rally around a president \u2063of \u200bwhom\u2062 they\u2019re currently skeptical.<\/p>\n<p>Some\u200b of the elements of the Hunter Biden \u200csaga evoke\u2062 sympathy from many people, such as a struggle with substance abuse that many families relate to and\u200c the\u2064 tragedy of Beau \u2064Biden\u2019s\u200b death in the\u2064 middle of what whistleblowers claim \u200bwas\u200d the height of \u2064Hunter Biden\u2019s alleged\u200c criminal activity.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats could \u200dsuccessfully accuse Republicans of exploiting the\u2063 pain of \u200ba beleaguered family if the impeachment inquiry focuses\u200b too\u200d much on the sympathetic elements of the narrative.<\/p>\n<p>House\u2063 Republicans have created that dynamic before.<\/p>\n<p>Former President\u200c Bill Clinton\u2019s approval ratings actually increased amid the impeachment proceedings \u2064against him \u200cfor lying about an affair he\u2019d had \u2062with a White House intern.<\/p>\n<p>The impeachment inquiry against him proved to be unpopular.<\/p>\n<h3>CON: DISTRACTS FROM\u2064 2024 MESSAGE<\/h3>\n<p>Republicans running for president are pushing\u200b economic reforms, parental \u200drights\u200b laws, disengaging from\u2062 the war in Ukraine, and more.<\/p>\n<p>An impeachment inquiry would, for \u200cmonths, focus the nation\u2019s attention on something other than the GOP\u2019s campaign message.<\/p>\n<p>Polling\u200c also suggests voters are primarily concerned about the\u200b economy and inflation heading into\u200c the\u200b election.<\/p>\n<p>Joe\u2062 Biden\u2019s consistently weak poll numbers on the\u2062 issue of the economy \u2063give Republican candidates a serious opening to make a more persuasive economic case to\u200c voters.<\/p>\n<p>But if Joe Biden faces an\u200d impeachment inquiry, they could be forced to spend too\u200d much of\u2064 their time talking about a scandal that, so \u2063far, voters \u200dseem \u200cto discount when assessing the \u2063president\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<h3>CON: DROWNED\u2063 OUT BY TRUMP<\/h3>\n<p>The former\u200d president\u200c faces\u2063 an indictment\u200d on campaign finance \u2064charges from the Manhattan district attorney, an indictment on mishandling classified documents and obstruction of justice from special counsel Jack Smith, and a potential third\u200c indictment\u2062 to be\u2063 filed in the coming weeks related to his\u2064 challenges to the \u20642020 election results.<\/p>\n<p>That could put Trump, the\u2063 front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, \u2064in the position of\u200c bouncing from\u200b trial to \u200btrial in the months before\u200d the election.<\/p>\n<p>And that could force House Republicans\u2019 impeachment \u200cinquiry to\u2062 share the \u2064spotlight with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-investigation-pros-and-cons-of-a-house-impeachment-inquiry\/\" title=\"Pros and cons of House impeachment inquiry into Hunter Biden investigation.\">equally sensational legal drama involving<\/a> \u200dtheir\u2064 party\u2019s standard-bearer \u2014 potentially lessening the impact of whatever \u2063facts they bring\u2064 to light through the inquiry.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, the Trump saga could allow\u200c Democrats to point fingers\u200c at illegal activity across \u2064the aisle as Republicans argue Joe Biden does not deserve another \u200dterm \u2014\u2063 given that \u2062Trump, too, is seeking a\u200c second term\u2063 under a cloud of\u2064 criminal allegations.<\/p>\n<h3>CON: FLOOR\u200c TIME\u2063 CRUNCH<\/h3>\n<p>Impeachment inquiries suck up significant floor \u2063time and committee resources, slowing congressional business to a virtual halt.<\/p>\n<p>That would mean Republicans couldn\u2019t focus on legislative\u200c fights\u200c they have \u2062vowed \u2063to\u2064 wage, such as \u200dpassing bills \u2062to protest Joe \u2062Biden\u2019s immigration agenda,\u2063 taking on major \u200btechnology \u2063corporations, and\u200d slashing\u200d the \u200cfederal budget.<\/p>\n<p>Using up the\u2064 final\u200b productive legislative months before the 2024 race gets underway on an impeachment inquiry\u200d could also allow Democrats\u200b to\u2064 accuse Republicans of stopping Congress from addressing \u200bthe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/j-d-vance-and-the-american-dream\/\" title=\"J.D. Vance and the American Dream\">issues voters care<\/a> most about.<\/p>\n<p>GOP lawmakers would therefore run the risk of\u200b handing Democrats a shield to guard against criticism of their policy failures during the \u200bpresidential race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) taking the bold move to initiate an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden signals a daring approach by GOP lawmakers. However, this risky move could have consequences for the upcoming election. McCarthy acknowledged evidence linking Biden to foreign business dealings, setting the stage for a contentious investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1983874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1983873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1983873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1983874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1983873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1983873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1983873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}