Ever since he announced his candidacy with a racist speech, Donald Trump has been lowering the standards of American politics both in terms of corruption and basic decent behavior. The latest thing that he has undone is impeachment proceedings against a sitting president. Once upon a time in this country, an impeachment investigation against a sitting president (or any elected politician) was seen as a drastic step. one that could only be taken carefully and with definite evidence of wrong doing. With former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, there was no doubt that they were lying, and there was also no question of illegality with Trump's two impeachments, despite what he may have said. But now the Trump enthralled Republican party is pushing for an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden without any evidence at all. And make no mistake about it, it may have been Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy that announced the investigation, but it was Trump who was behind it. He has pushed for the investigation publicly in speeches and on social media and privately in conversations with House Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The investigation is centered about Joe Biden's son Hunter, and his use of his family's name when his father was vice president to make millions for himself, appear, I will admit, morally dubious. And he has been charged with tax evasion and lying on a form when he purchased a gun. But there is no proof that Joe Biden himself interfered in his son's business dealings or took any kind of bribes or illegal kickbacks from them, as Republicans are asserting. Crucially, the recent testimony of Hunter's former business partner Devon Archer, which Republicans said would blow the lid off the investigation, revealed that Hunter would only occasionally have his father join in brief conversations with them that were never about business. When asked point blank if he was "aware of any wrongdoing by Vice President Biden?” Devon replied "No, I'm not aware of any." Normally this would have ended any kind of impeachment proceedings right there, but the modern Republicans are miles away from the ones that admitted that Richard Nixon was guilty and would have voted to remove him from office if he hadn't resigned.
Look, Hunter Biden is clearly a troubled man who, even before his struggles with addiction, had to deal with the death of his mother and sister in an auto accident in 1972 and then had his brother Beau die of brain cancer in 2015. And yes, it's also clear that Hunter has gotten rich mainly off his father's position. But how is that news? Being related to a person with political power can make for a lucrative career, as all of Trump's family know well.
At the end of the day, this is all pure politics: even the most extreme element of the House Republicans know that there's no way that 60 Senators will vote to remove Biden from office even if the House does impeach him. But having a long, drawn out investigation in which all manner of allegations will be made against Joe Biden during an election year could hurt Biden and fire up the Republican base while also drawing attention away from Trump's own criminal trials (which, unlike Biden's, actually do have evidence of Trump's criminal behavior). In other words, get ready for the overblown accusations of extreme right wing House Republicans like Greene and Lauren Bobert to be broadcast all over conservative media, no matter how absurd they may be. 2024 may turn out to be an even uglier campaign than the last two. Buckle in.
