Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden has endorsed impeaching President Trump over a phone call with Ukraine’s president discussing investigating potential corruption involving Biden and his son while Biden was vice president.
“Donald Trump has violated his oath of office, betrayed this nation, and committed impeachable acts,” Biden said. “To preserve our Constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity, he should be impeached.”
“We believe Americans should decide American elections, period. But Donald Trump will do anything to get reelected, including violating the most basic forms of democracy,” Biden said. “It’s stunning, and it’s dangerous because it directly threatens our democracy. This is not hyperbole, it’s a fact. No president in American history has ever dared to engage in such unimaginable behavior.”
The former vice president continued, “With his words and his actions, President Trump has indicted himself by obstructing justice, refusing to comply with a congressional inquiry. He’s already convicted himself.”
While Biden predicated his impeachment rhetoric on the recent Ukraine debacle, he immediately revealed his true motives, reminding voters that Democrats have maintained their “punishment in search of a crime” strategy since losing the 2016 election. He said, “We have to remember that impeachment isn’t only about what the president’s done. It’s about the threat the president poses to the nation if allowed to remain in office.”
Although Biden didn’t call for impeachment as quickly as other Democrats have, other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates were quick to endorse the inquiry in lieu of a fair fight on the electoral field.
I look forward to seeing Donald Trump impeached as soon as possible.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 29, 2019
Donald Trump has shown us he is lawless, and last week he gave us even more evidence that he is not fit for office.
He must be impeached.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 30, 2019
Donald Trump is now openly calling for foreign governments to interfere in our elections from the White House Lawn. If he thinks openly committing the same crime will convince people his secret calls weren’t illegal—he's wrong. We will hold him accountable. He must be impeached.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 3, 2019
The answer is clear. pic.twitter.com/TOzSU5avlc
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) September 28, 2019
These impeachment calls come after a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was thrust into public view thanks to media-manufactured hysteria over a whistleblower complaint. Later, it was revealed that not only did the whistleblower lack firsthand knowledge of the conversation, but the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) had secretly altered the form whistleblowers must fill out to eliminate a certification they have direct, firsthand knowledge of alleged misconduct, as Sean David reported here at The Federalist.
Further, The New York Times reported that the anti-Trump complainant had presented his allegations to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., prior to filing the complaint with the ICIG. Byron York also reports the whistleblower has professional ties to a 2020 Democratic candidate for president.
During Biden’s push for impeachment, he also said, “One thing about this president is absolutely clear, and I don’t think anyone can contradict this: He has seen no limits to his power regardless of what the Constitution says. He believes the entire United States government can be corrupted into furthering his personal political needs. He’s even willing to hold Congress and congressionally appropriated aid to a foreign nation hostage to his personal political demands.”
Biden’s comments on Trump’s interest in his personal political demands are ironic, especially with regard to Ukraine, since Biden’s Ukraine record isn’t clean. During Biden’s stint as vice president, he pressured the Ukrainian government to fire the prosecutor investigating his son Hunter’s company, which he later bragged about. Despite his complete lack of relevant experience, Hunter Biden joined the board of Ukrainian national gas company Burisma in 2014, a role for which he was paid $50,000 per month.
Despite his support for impeachment, Biden doesn’t seem to believe congressional efforts to impeach Trump will be successful, saying after endorsing the inquiry, “He has another year in office.”
Biden said that just like any other bully he’s ever known, Trump’s actions reveal “he’s a coward, he’s afraid. He’s afraid about just how badly I will beat him next November.” If that’s going to happen, though, then why is Biden supporting impeachment instead?
