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Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives held their first formal impeachment hearing Thursday, arguing before the American public that President Joe Biden improperly used his office for the financial benefit of his family. But Democrats contend that the inquiry has yet to turn up evidence supporting those claims,
as VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/Script– US CONGRESS BIDEN IMPEACHMENT
HEADLINE: House Republicans Examine Legal, Constitutional Basis for Biden Impeachment
TEASER: Democrat lawmakers say hearing provided no evidence of Biden wrongdoing
PUBLISHED AT: 09/28/2022, 8:59 p.m.
BYLINE: Katherine Gypson
PRODUCERS: Katherine Gypson,
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Saqib Ui Islam
SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Jepsen, DJ (ok)
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:33
VID APPROVED BY: Holly Franko
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO))
[[Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives held their first formal impeachment hearing Thursday, arguing before the American public that President Joe Biden improperly used his office for the financial benefit of his family. But Democrats contend that the inquiry has yet to turn up evidence supporting those claims, as VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports.))
((NARRATOR))
Republican lawmakers held their first formal impeachment inquiry hearing Thursday, arguing that members of the Biden family benefited from President Joe Biden’s time in public office.
((Radio version: Congressman James Comer is the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability))
((Rep. James Comer, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman))
“For years, President Biden has lied to the American people about his knowledge of and participation in his family's corrupt business schemes. At least ten times, Joe Biden lied to the American people that he never spoke to his family about their business dealings. He lied by telling the American people that there was an absolute wall between his official government duties and his personal life.”
((NARRATOR))
But Republicans have yet to uncover any hard evidence that President Biden misused his office, and they did not present any new evidence in Thursday’s hearing.
((Radio version: Congressman Jamie Raskin is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee))
((Rep. Jamie Raskin, House Oversight Committee Ranking Democrat))
“They've invited three witnesses to testify — not one of them is an eyewitness to a presidential crime of any kind. Not one of them is a direct fact witness about any of the events related to Ukraine and Burisma, and not one of them has participated in the eight months of investigation in which our Distinguished Chairman has publicly posted that he received 100% of everything he asked for.”
((NARRATOR))
Democrats argue that Republicans are investigating Biden to distract from the indictments that encompass 91 criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.
((Radio version: Democratic Representative Robert Garcia))
((Rep. Robert Garcia, Democrat))
“This is all about Donald Trump – his campaign and supporting him.”
((NARRATOR))
Republicans say they are rooting out corruption. A poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 1 in 3 Americans are highly concerned about whether President Joe Biden may have committed wrongdoing related to his son’s business dealings.
((Radio version: Republican Representative Lisa McLain))
((Rep. Lisa McLain, Republican))
“Let’s get some transparency. Let’s follow the rule of law.”
((NARRATOR))
Some House Republicans have expressed doubt about the inquiry, saying it does not rise to the standard of removing a president from office for high crimes and
misdemeanors — and other Republicans acknowledge any impeachment effort will end in the Democratic-majority U.S. Senate.
((Radio version: Republican Representative Darrell Issa))
((Rep. Darrell Issa, Republican))
“We have no expectation that the Senate would vote to impeach.”
((NARRATOR))
If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement about funding priorities, the U.S. government will shut down on October 1st, and impeachment hearings cannot be held until new funding is passed.
((Katherine Gypson, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
in Washington D. C.
Embargo DateSeptember 28, 2023 21:36 EDT
Byline
Katherine Gypson, VOA News
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
