Previous instances of presidential impeachment have each had their own contexts, each unique to their own political moments. McCarthy was making a frank admission and also stating a plain fact: Impeachments are largely the products of political circumstances. McCarthy, who earlier this month vowed he would never begin such a probe without a majority vote of the whole House, insisted he had been forced to take this step on his own by "new revelations" that had created a new set circumstances. This has been alleged, without evidence, by purported whistleblowers with varying degrees of credibility problems of their own. The implication of the questions asked has been that President Biden himself received money from Ukrainian or possibly Chinese sources in exchange for wielding his influence over U.S. The allegations concern his time as vice president under President Barack Obama but extend to more recent actions and associations, mostly having to do with his son, Hunter. But McCarthy said several House committees would get to work on allegations involving President Biden's conduct. It is not yet clear that the "impeachment inquiry" announced last week by Speaker Kevin McCarthy will even lead to formal charges or a vote in the House. That was the only impeachment process that actually drove a president from office, and arguably the only one that clearly succeeded in what it set out to do. It stopped because the target president, Richard M. The one process that did not go the distance ended just before the House took its vote. Impeachment of the president has reared its head five times in American history, and all five episodes should serve as cautionary tales for those House Republicans who now seem determined to make it six.Įach of these earlier forays had a profound impact on the direction of national politics, both in the short term and for years to come.įour of the five reached the point of impeachment votes in the House and trials in the Senate that failed to muster the two-thirds vote required to convict.
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