Biden Responds to House Impeachment Inquiry, Calls It ‘Baseless Political Stunt’

President Joe Biden speaks at a meeting of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House in Washington on Dec. 13, 2023. Jim WATSON/AFP

President Joe Biden has publicly responded to the House of Representatives formalizing its impeachment inquiry against him, calling the whole action a “baseless political stunt.”

House Republicans released the 14-page measure to formalize the House impeachment inquiry of President Biden last week, which then passed on Dec. 13, 221–212. The action gives more power to the probe into the actions of the president, the White House, and the Biden family.

President Biden was scathing of the move in his Dec. 13 statement to the press, saying that Republicans are “attacking me with lies.”

“Instead of doing their job on the urgent work that needs to be done, they are choosing to waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts,” the president said.

“The American people need their leaders in Congress to take action on important priorities for the nation and world.”

President Biden has been accused of profiting from his time as vice president, through family foreign business dealings with China and Ukraine, among others. His son, Hunter Biden, is allegedly heavily involved in the whole affair.

The White House and President Biden have always maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing, and any misdeeds by Hunter Biden were done without his father’s knowledge.

Hunter Biden recently defied a subpoena to provide testimony at a closed-door hearing. Instead, the younger Biden appeared outside the Capitol and asked for a public hearing. He may now face contempt charges for failing to answer the subpoena, which can carry prison time as a penalty.

Biden Says GOP Needs to Work With Him

In his statement, President Biden also took the chance to chastise House Republicans for not acting on any of his domestic and foreign priorities. President Biden also claims the GOP is refusing to act on fixing the ongoing border crisis, repair the economy, and improve job growth—all of which he says will get much worse due to the GOP refusing to pass his measures.

“On Tuesday, I met with the President of Ukraine, who is leading his people in a battle for freedom against Russian aggression. He came to America to ask us for help. Yet Republicans in Congress won’t act to help,” President Biden said.

“The people of Israel are in a battle against terrorists, and they are waiting for our help. Yet Republicans in Congress won’t act to help.”

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with the European Commission president following their talks in Kyiv on Nov. 4, 2023. Anatoli Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

Some Republicans from both chambers of Congress have been staunch in holding back their votes to pass spending bills that don’t include additional measures, such as stricter border regulations and cuts to government spending as the national debt passes $33 trillion. Currently, the U.S. government spends more than it receives in tax revenue by a wide margin.

Regardless of what happens with the impeachment inquiry, any findings are unlikely to result in President Biden being removed from office before the 2024 election. Even if the House votes to impeach the president, the Senate would then have to vote to convict him on the charges by a two-thirds vote. The Democrats hold the balance of power in the chamber with a 51-49 majority.

So far in the 247-year history of the United States, only three presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. All were later acquitted of all charges. No president has ever been removed from office due to an impeachment inquiry.