Republicans have enough votes to authorize a formal impeachment probe against US President Joe Biden, House Speaker Mike Johnson has told an American news network.
When asked whether GOP members would launch such a probe Johnson said “I believe we will, I suspect no Democrats will assist in this effort, but they should”.
According to the House Speaker, Republicans “have a duty to do this [probe]” and they “cannot stop the process.” He pledged that GOP lawmakers would not use the probe as a partisan political tool against the Democratic Party.
“[House GOP conference chair] Elise [Stefanik] and I both served on the impeachment defense team of Donald Trump twice, when the Democrats used it for brazen partisan political purposes. We decried that use of it. This is very different,” Johnson noted.
He then referred to recent comments by fellow Republicans about the need for a vote to investigate Biden, which they argued would strengthen their legal standing in court. GOP members also accused the White House of "stonewalling" their investigation into Biden and his son's foreign business dealings.
In that vein, Johnson told the US broadcaster that "now we [Republicans] are being stalled by the White House because they're preventing at least two to three DOJ [Department of Justice] witnesses from coming forward".
“A formal impeachment inquiry vote on the floor will allow us to take it to the next necessary step, and I think it’s something we have to do at this juncture,” Johnson emphasized.
The comments come days after US media reported that Congressional Republicans are considering a vote to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden in the coming weeks.
In September, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy authorized an impeachment inquiry into alleged bribery and influence peddling involving the Biden family. GOP congressmen say they have enough evidence to prove that the Biden family capitalized on Joe's name to get money and valuable gifts in return for favors.
This came after Hunter Biden was accused of using his father's name to open doors in the business world and make lucrative deals - including with China and Ukraine - that the president may have covered up and even profited from. POTUS denied the allegations, claiming he never discussed foreign business deals with his son.