Former President Donald Trump, known for his outspokenness, remained mum in the aftermath of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) launching an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
As of early afternoon Eastern Time on Sept. 13, neither the former president nor his spokespersons had issued a statement about the inquiry. More than 24 hours had elapsed after Mr. McCarthy's announcement.
The Epoch Times has repeatedly sought comment and also has monitored all the usual channels: the Trump campaign website, email announcements, and his Truth Social account.
The reasons for President Trump's unusual restraint were not immediately clear. However, the former president has been court-ordered to refrain from certain types of commentary in cases in which he is criminally charged.
Evidence Ample or Lacking?
The White House denounced the GOP-led inquiry as "an evidence-free goose chase," according to The Washington Post. Other mainstream media, including The Associated Press, said Republicans were pursuing the impeachment inquiry "without evidence."But Republicans countered that they have unearthed financial records, emails, and witness testimony that warrant further investigation.
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The probe centers on concerns that then-Vice President Biden appears to have used his office to enrich his family and business associates to the tune of $20 million.
'Followed the Facts'
Although The Epoch Times was unable to find President Trump's direct reaction to the impeachment inquiry, he did repost others' comments about it on his Truth Social account Wednesday morning.He shared a post from X, formerly Twitter, from Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.).
He added that "since the press won’t do their job and agencies (to this point) won’t do theirs," the House judiciary and oversight committees "have led the way."
"The focus is much clearer and the evidence continues to mount against Biden," Mr. Fry wrote. "The Constitution prescribes a way to hold government officials accountable. The time for an impeachment inquiry is NOW!"
The inquiry allows the committees to gather more facts, he noted in a separate comment thread on X.
President Trump also posted a statement from GOP strategist Garrett Ventry, who wrote on X: "Republicans have a strong basis for an impeachment inquiry."
Mr. Ventry listed five specific points, including the bank records, witness statements, and President Biden's alleged "possession of classified documents he stole related to Ukraine."
Don Jr. Weighs In–Sort Of
On Sept. 12, shortly after Mr. McCarthy revealed that the inquiry was being launched, the former president's son, Donald Trump Jr., posted on Truth Social: "The saga of the Biden Crime Family is the exact opposite of the Russia Russia Russia! hoax. In the Democrats’ witch hunt, the more everyone found out, the more obvious it became that there was no basis in fact. With the Bidens, the more we learn, the more obviously corrupt they are."However, the former president's eldest son didn't specifically mention the impeachment inquiry. This may indicate that President Trump and his allies could have made a calculated decision to refrain from public comment and allow the inquiry to proceed without entering the fray.
Yet President Trump has repeatedly called for the impeachment of President Biden, considered to be his chief Democrat rival for the 2024 presidential election.
President Trump, the runaway Republican frontrunner for his party's nomination in that race, has also accused President Biden of influencing federal prosecutions of him—an allegation the current president has denied.
President Trump has been indicted on 91 state and federal charges relating to allegations that he mishandled documents and illegally attempted to change the outcome of the 2020 election.
Trump Urged Impeachment
On Aug. 27, three days after being arrested and having his history-making mug shot taken in Georgia, President Trump denounced the delay in impeaching President Biden."You don't need a long inquiry to prove it," he said on his Truth Social account. In his opinion, evidence already shows that then-Vice President Joe Biden committed wrongdoing. "The guy got bribed, he paid people off," President Trump wrote.
"Biden is a stone cold crook...These lowlifes impeached me twice (I won!), and indicted me four times–for nothing! Either impeach the bum, or fade into oblivion. They did it to us," President Trump wrote in that Aug. 27 post.
The former president was referring to Democrats' accusations that he colluded with Russians to help him win the 2016 election.
Past Trump Impeachments
In addition, President Trump prevailed despite two Democrat-led impeachment attempts.One focused on allegations that he incited an "insurrection" on Jan. 6, 2021. Protesters breached the U.S. Capitol amid a massive protest over irregularities in the 2020 election.
President Trump has now been indicted four times, including over his protestations that President Biden's victory was illegitimate.
President Trump was first impeached in late 2019 over a phone call he made that April to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, then president-elect of Ukraine.
After congratulating Mr. Zelenskyy on his victory, President Trump raised concerns about former Vice President Joe Biden "bragging" that he halted a possible Ukrainian prosecution. President Trump said he heard that the case involved Hunter Biden's activities.
President Trump told Mr. Zelenskyy that a description of that situation "sounded horrible to me," and he asked Mr. Zelenskyy to find out what happened.
Yes, Biden Did Brag
The call happened several months after Mr. Biden, then a former vice president, boasted in a videotaped appearance that he held up $1 billion in U.S. loans to Ukraine.He said he agreed to release the money if Ukrainian officials terminated the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden was employed.
Mr. Shokin also said his ouster was related to his investigation of Burisma. President Biden has claimed Mr. Shokin was fired over his job performance.
On Sept. 13, the former president posted an article quoting a Ukrainian memo saying Mr. Shokin had received praise for meeting anti-corruption goals in late 2015. But he was fired shortly thereafter.
Above the posted article, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: "When will the Fascists apologize to me?"
