“He’s a horrible president—our country is going to hell. Whether it’s impeachment or not impeachment, this man is destroying our country at the border, he’s destroying it economically, inflation’s way up now,” President Trump said during a Sept. 14 episode of the podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
“But that’s going to be up to them whether or not they want to do it,” he added. “I have no idea whether they will or not.”
The former president also suggested that his own impeachment might have been a driving factor in House Republicans’ decision to impeach President Biden.
“I think, had they not done it to me ... perhaps you wouldn’t have it being done to them. And this is going to happen with indictments, too,” he said, referencing the four indictments that have been brought against him this year, which he holds to be politically motivated.
“I think you’re going to see that as time goes by. You’re going to see Republicans when they’re in power [indicting Democrats],” he added. “And it’s a shame when that happens. I’m not in favor of that, but that’s what’s going to happen because that’s human nature.”
“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption, and they warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives,” Mr. McCarthy said, adding that an impeachment inquiry was the “logical next step” for gathering all of the facts.
One of the most serious allegations is that President Biden, while vice president, accepted a $5 million bribe to ensure that Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was fired. At the time, Mr. Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy firm where Vice Presiden Biden’s son Hunter Biden served as a board member.
Meanwhile, bank records showed that several of President Biden’s family members and their business associates received at least $20 million in payments from entities in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and China. The payments, funneled through at least 20 shell companies, were also found to have started during his time as vice president.
President Trump, touching on the allegations, said that he had tried to bring up some of those concerns during a presidential debate in 2020 but was cut off by then-Fox News host Chris Wallace.
“At the debate, he was moderating, and I said, ‘What about ... the mayor of Moscow’s wife?’” he said, referring to Yelena Baturina’s giving $3.5 million to a company linked to Hunter Biden.
“I brought that up during that event, and Chris Wallace said, ‘This has nothing to do with anyone.’ Now it’s a bigger subject. Everyone’s talking about it.”
President Biden, while speaking at a fundraiser in Virginia on Sept. 13, dismissed the investigation, saying, “I’m focused on the things the American people want me focused on.”
As for Republicans’ motives, he said, “The best I can tell is they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.”
The response was an allusion to the looming deadline for Congress to pass its appropriations bills. Unless all 12 bills are passed by Sept. 30, a government shutdown is likely.
As no timeline has been specified for the impeachment inquiry, it’s unclear how the investigation would prompt a government shutdown.
