Watch: McCarthy Loses It on CNN Reporter Over Biden Impeachment Votes
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a CNN reporter traded words during an exchange on Wednesday over the former’s decision to unilaterally launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
McCarthy announced Tuesday that such an inquiry is the “logical” step after investigations from House Republicans had allegedly unearthed evidence Biden and his family had improperly cashed in on his influence as vice president from 2009 to 2017.
“These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption,” McCarthy told reporters, NBC News reported, “They warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives.”
I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Over the past several months, House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct—a culture of corruption. https://t.co/3uoDlUB3Sy
— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 12, 2023
McCarthy faced blowback, as he told Breitbart News on Sept. 1 that he would not move to impeach Biden without holding a floor vote on the matter.
No vote was taken, which seemed to upset CNN’s Manu Raju.
During a Wednesday back-and-forth, Raju tried to pin McCarthy on the announcement of the impeachment inquiry.
Raju: You told Breitbart 12 days ago you had the votes. What changed? pic.twitter.com/c1gXifTsO0
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 13, 2023
“You told Breitbart 12 days ago you had the votes,” Raju said. “What changed?”
McCarthy noted that in 2019, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unilaterally launched her first impeachment probe into then-President Donald Trump without taking a vote in 2019.
“Nancy Pelosi changed the precedent of this House,” he said. “It was withheld and good enough for every single Democrat here.”
McCarthy added, “It was good enough for the judge, why does it have to be different today?”
He added, “What we’ve learned in the last couple of weeks, wouldn’t you want to know the answer to?”
McCarthy then challenged Raju to investigate allegations of corruption himself.
“Your whole job is reporting,” he said. “You don’t care about any of the answers.”
The Western Journal was unable to find any instances of Raju or any other CNN reporters attempting to grill Pelosi for unilaterally launching an impeachment probe into Trump in 2019.
But at the time, McCarthy called her out for her unprecedented actions on social media:
Here are the facts:
1. Speaker Pelosi can’t decide on impeachment unilaterally. It requires a full vote of the House of Representatives.
2. The House has voted three times on articles of impeachment. Each vote failed.
3. For Dems, this is all about politics. Not about facts.— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) September 24, 2019
Two weeks ago, McCarthy told Breitbart, “To open an impeachment inquiry is a serious matter, and House Republicans would not take it lightly or use it for political purposes.”
He added, “The American people deserve to be heard on this matter through their elected representatives… That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person.”
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