Mass. Democrats blast impeachment inquiry

By Christian M Wade

BOSTON — Members of the state’s all-Democrat congressional delegation are blasting Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s plans to conduct impeachment proceedings against Democratic President Joe Biden.

On Tuesday, McCarthy announced he is directing a House committee to open an impeachment inquiry into Biden over his family’s business dealings. McCarthy said a preliminary investigation by the House Oversight Committee has uncovered a “culture of corruption” around the business dealings of president and his son, Hunter Biden, prior to the Democrat taking over the White House.

“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” McCarthy, R-Calif., said in remarks Tuesday outside the speaker’s Capitol offices.

In Massachusetts, the state’s democratic delegation ripped the move, accusing the Republican leader of caving in to demands from his right flank to take action against Biden in the midst of the contentious 2024 presidential election cycle.

Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Westford, accused McCarthy of “using impeachment to appease the most extreme members of his conference while lurching us closer to a catastrophic government shutdown.”

“The American people deserve better than a puppet Speaker whose strings are being pulled by Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene,” she said in a statement.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, called McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry “the most egregious case yet of Republican weaponization of government for political retribution.”

“For months, House Republicans have claimed they have smoking gun evidence, and for months, they’ve failed to produce anything to hold up those accusations,” he said. “Even members of McCarthy’s own party admit that the evidence isn’t there — but the Speaker sold his soul in January, and everyone else is now paying the price.”

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top-ranking Democrat in the House Rules Committee who led an impeachment inquiry into then President Donald Trump in 2021, also blasted the plan and accused McCarthy of losing control of the chamber he oversees.

“McCarthy wants to impeach Joe Biden because he doesn’t like him & needs to put down a far right rebellion,” McGovern posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But won’t expel George Santos who lied about his whole life & is charged w/ fraud, money laundering and more. What a joke.”

Trump was twice impeached by the then Democratic-controlled House, but he was acquitted by the GOP-led Senate. He now faces more serious charges in court after being indicted four times, including for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

House Republicans argue that the U.S. Department of Justice hasn’t fully probed the allegations against Hunter Biden, and argue the president’s son has received preferential treatment in what they have called a “sweetheart plea deal” that recently fell apart. The Justice Department appointed a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation.

Democrats allege the impeachment proceedings are aimed at hurting the president’s reelection bid, and come as Congress is struggling to pass legislation to avoid a federal government shutdown at the end of the month.

“We are weeks away from a government shutdown. Congress needs to pass 11 funding bills before October 1st to keep the lights on,” Moulton said on Tuesday. “Yet, Kevin McCarthy is more focused on appeasing the chaos wing of his party than finding a solution to fund the government.”