Joe Biden did nothing 'wrong,' White House says on impeachment probe

NEW DELHI: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, on Thursday, strongly criticized the Republican intentions to initiate an impeachment inquiry against president Joe Biden. She categorically denounced the effort as baseless, emphasizing that no concrete evidence has been presented by Republicans to support their investigation into the business dealings of Biden's son, Hunter Biden. The primary focus of this inquiry is to determine whether president Biden personally benefited from his son's business activities.


Jean-Pierre described the Republican initiative as” a political stunt”, designed to sow discord and uncertainty rather than uncover any genuine wrongdoing. She asserted, "This is a political maneuver that lacks substance and is being wielded purely for political gain."


Furthermore, Jean-Pierre suggested that the impetus for this impeachment inquiry appeared to stem from House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican official in Washington, succumbing to pressure from the far-right wing of the Republican party, including vocal representatives like Marjorie Taylor-Greene.


On Tuesday, Speaker Kevin McCarthy instructed leading congressional Republicans to commence an impeachment inquiry against president Joe Biden, overturning his earlier position that such an investigation should only be launched following a House vote.


In Jean-Pierre's view, the decision to pursue impeachment in this manner was indicative of an entire process that circumvented the proper channels and norms, branding it as illegitimate. "This is an entire exercise of how to do this in an illegitimate way... It is going after the president politically, not about the truth," she said.


Jean-Pierre emphasized that, despite their efforts, Republicans had failed to unearth any evidence of wrongdoing by president Biden. "They have turned up with no evidence, none, that he did anything wrong. The president didn't do anything wrong," Biden's press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.


(With Agency inputs)