Rep. Feenstra supports impeachment inquiry into President Biden, Rep. Bacon opposes

FILE – Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, speaks during hearing March 29, 2022, in Washington. House Republicans are touting their debt limit package as a first step toward fiscal restraint. They say it’s past time for Congress to reduce the swelling deficits that they say are threatening the fiscal health of the country. But a group of Midwestern Republicans went to Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office this week on a mission to preserve billions of dollars in federal support for biofuels and ethanol.(Rod Lamkey/Pool Photo via AP, File)

by: Wesley Thoene

Posted: Sep 12, 2023 / 05:47 PM CDT

Updated: Sep 12, 2023 / 05:54 PM CDT

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KCAU) — U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) has voiced support for the formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) directed House committees to open the impeachment inquiry into the president. He said the inquiry is based on the House GOP’s investigations of his family’s foreign business dealings and the prosecution of his son Hunter Biden.

In part of a statement, Feenstra, representing Iowa’s Fourth District, said that a “more thorough investigation” is needed to hold “Biden accountable for his corruption.” You can read his full statement below.

“Through committee investigations, we know that President Biden lied to the American people about his involvement with his son’s foreign business dealings. Credible whistleblower testimony also reveals that the Biden administration secured a sweetheart deal and preferential treatment for Hunter Biden in his tax evasion case. It is evident that a further and more thorough investigation is warranted to protect the integrity of our institutions, defend the rule of law in our country, and hold President Biden accountable for his corruption. I support a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden.”
Rep. Feenstra

The probe is being led by Republican House committee chairs James Comer (R-Ky.) of the Oversight and Accountability Committee, Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) of the House Judiciary Committee, and Jason Smith (R-Mo.) of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Investigations into the Biden business dealings have been going on for months in the House Oversight Committee. Reporting by The Hill said that the committee has not found that “Biden directly financially benefited from his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings” nor has it “proved that he made any policy decisions because of them.”

Meanwhile, not every House Republican is in favor of the impeachment inquiry. Rep Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he thinks that McCarthy should hold a vote on whether to pursue an impeachment inquiry.

Bacon said for there to be an impeachment inquiry, there needs to be “some kind of direct evidence towards the president.” He added that if there was a vote, he would likely vote against it.

“I think an inquiry should be based on evidence of a crime that points directly to President Biden, or if the President doesn’t cooperate by not providing documents,” he added. “There’s clearly corruption with Hunter using his dad’s name to earn tens of millions of dollars. But impeachment needs to be about the dad, not the son. Many of us don’t want to see impeachment become something that is commonly used against every president.”

Even with his lack of support for the probe, Bacon said that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi “set the standard.”

“I think it’s the right thing to do,” Bacon said. “But you know, Pelosi set the standard. She did an inquiry last time without a vote.”

House Democrats are against the inquiry, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) describing it as “a kangaroo court, fishing expedition and conspiracy theater rolled into one.”

The Hill contributed to this report.