House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has become known for his reluctance to impeach President Joe Biden or Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas… but McCarthy remains open to impeaching at least one Cabinet member.
McCarthy has laid out the conditions for impeaching Attorney General Merrick Garland — head of Biden’s Justice Department — by July 6.
The House speaker apparently started planning over the weekend. On Friday, the House Ways and Means Committee cited testimony from I.R.S. whistleblower Gary Shapley, among others.
According to their review of Shapley’s testimony, U.S. Attorney David Weiss moved to charge First Son Hunter Biden in Washington, D.C., instead of his Delaware district.
If Shapley is to be believed, then the Justice Department appears to have denied Weiss’s request. For that reason, Garland stands accused of delaying Hunter Biden’s case.
Following these revelations, McCarthy didn’t hold back.
“We need to get to the facts, and that includes reconciling these clear disparities. U.S. Attorney David Weiss must provide answers to the House Judiciary Committee,” McCarthy tweeted Sunday. “If the whistleblowers’ allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into Merrick Garland’s weaponization of DOJ.”
Then on Monday, McCarthy went on Fox News to give a timeline for the impeachment proceedings against Garland.
“By July 6,” McCarthy said. “If it comes true what the I.R.S. whistleblower is saying, we’re going to start impeachment inquiries on the attorney general.”
Garland has denied any interference with Weiss’s request to charge Hunter Biden in D.C.
“As I said from the moment of my appointment as attorney general, I would leave this matter in the hands of the United States attorney — who was appointed by the previous president and assigned to this matter by the previous administration — that he would be given full authority to decide the matter as he decided was appropriate, and that’s what he’s done,” Garland said Wednesday at a press conference.
“Some have chosen to attack the integrity of the Justice Department… by claiming we do not treat like cases alike. This constitutes an attack on an institution that is essential to American democracy and essential to the safety of the American people.”
Take a look at McCarthy’s remarks —
🚨 BREAKING: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he'll start impeachment of Attorney General Merrick Garland by July 6 over bombshell IRS whistleblower testimony that he interfered in criminal investigation into Hunter Biden pic.twitter.com/nhNiG4WnPM
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 26, 2023
We need to get to the facts, and that includes reconciling these clear disparities. U.S. Attorney David Weiss must provide answers to the House Judiciary Committee.
If the whistleblowers' allegations are true, this will be a significant part of a larger impeachment inquiry into… https://t.co/Q3LLeJhW85
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) June 25, 2023
On Tuesday, Hunter Biden reached an agreement to plead guilty on two counts of failing to pay the income tax.
However, House Republicans have long accused the Justice Department of allowing political motivations to affect its work. In May, Georgie Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed impeachment articles against Garland for “facilitating the weaponization and politicization of the United States justice system against the American people.”
Greene earned six co-sponsors for her measure to impeach Garland. By contrast, she filed impeachment articles against President Biden in 2021 without any co-sponsors at all.
The Horn editorial team