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As Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy prepares to open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, one House Democrat believes Hunter Biden is the only one who “looks guilty.”
Congressman Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, called Hunter Biden’s behavior unethical and illegal.
“The evidence suggests Hunter Biden is guilty of unethical and/or illegal behavior. The evidence suggests Joe Biden is guilty of absolutely nothing more than being a father,” Rep. Phillips posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.
Phillips, a moderate, was at one point expected to pose a Democratic primary challenge to Biden, but he has since signaled no intention to take on the current president, Politico reports.
For years, Hunter Biden’s business dealings have been under sharp scrutiny by Republicans and right-leaning news outlets. Specifically, a 2020 New York Post report alleged that in 2015 Hunter Biden’s ties to Ukrainian energy executives unethically influenced Pres. Biden’s approach to U.S. foreign policy.
Most mainstream media outlets, along with the vast majority of federal Democratic lawmakers, have ignored the guilty allegations against Hunter Biden, not convinced the laptop belonged to him.
With Republicans in charge of the House as of January 2023, however, GOP Speaker McCarthy appears determined to link the president’s behavior to his son’s ahead of the 2024 election.
Meanwhile, Rep. Phillips’ defense of Biden and condemnation of his son show the likely position House Democrats will take if Speaker McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry proceeds.
Federal prosecutors believe Hunter Biden is guilty
On top of the inquiries into his business dealings with Ukraine, Hunter Biden also faces a potential criminal case. Federal prosecutors are seeking to indict Hunter Biden for illegal gun possession by the end of September, according to court documents.
Prosecutors believe Hunter Biden is guilty of being in possession of a firearm while using drugs. He and his defense team are pushing back against the possible indictment, saying they’d already reached an agreement in that case not to pursue new charges.
“We expect a fair resolution of the sprawling, 5-year investigation into Mr. Biden that was based on the evidence and the law, not outside political pressure, and we’ll do what is necessary on behalf of Mr. Biden to achieve that,” Defense attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement earlier this month, the Associated Press reported.
Hunter Biden also faces two misdemeanor charges over failure to pay $100,000 in taxes on $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018. He pleaded not guilty in late July.
White House responds to Biden impeachment inquiry
Notably, a recent CNN poll shows roughly 55 percent of Americans believe Pres. Biden was influenced by Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian business ties, including a third of Democrats.
It’s unclear if or when the GOP-led impeachment inquiry of Pres. Biden will come to a vote or if the issue of guilty or innocent behavior will end with Hunter Biden. When Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, the House vote only took a few months.
Some far-right members of the Republican caucus have pledged to push Speaker McCarthy out of his role if he doesn’t follow their agenda on spending cuts and more border security.
Meanwhile, the White House sent a memo to news outlets on Tuesday urging them to “Do More To Scrutinize House Republicans’ Demonstrably False Claims That They’re Basing Impeachment Stunt On.”
“Impeachment is grave, rare and historic. The Constitution requires ‘treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.’ But House Republicans are publicly stating they have uncovered none of these things,” the White House memo states.