Republican Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania snapped at a reporter after being asked to provide "actual evidence" to justify launching a formal impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday directed three committees to investigate Biden for what he said were "credible allegations" that the president engaged in a "culture of corruption." McCarthy's unilateral decision was a dramatic departure from his earlier stance, arriving after a sustained period of pressure from MAGA Republicans. The speaker previously indicated that he would only launch an inquiry following a House vote.
Republicans have yet to provide any evidence proving a crime by Biden or even a firm link to the business dealings of his son Hunter Biden. Perry, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, became visibly irritated when a reporter asked him what evidence existed to support the impeachment inquiry during a Tuesday press conference of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, which he chairs.
"What actual evidence do you have, as opposed to allegations, to show to the American public that would merit an actual impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden?" the reporter asked in a clip shared by journalist Aaron Rupar to X, formerly Twitter. "And prove that today isn't just about some of you ... enacting political revenge for the impeachment of Donald Trump?"
"Oh, I don't know!" Perry snapped. "This isn't about political revenge. We have the bank accounts, we can see. Ma'am, you can see that the homes that the Bidens own can't be afforded on a congressional or Senate salary. You also understand that it's not normal for family members to receive millions of dollars from overseas interests."
Perry continued to speculate about the alleged wrongdoings of Biden and his family, claiming without evidence that the president's financial status "alludes to" a series of crimes.
"These things are not normal," said Perry. "And it alludes to not only just widespread corruption, but money laundering, if not influence peddling itself ... If you can't see that, if you are that blind ..."
The reporter responded by saying, "the American people can't see that, they think it's political revenge." Perry retorted, "That's because you don't report on it!"
"If you can't see that! If you are that blind!" -- Rep. Scott Perry gets very mad at a reporter who asks him what actual evidence Republicans have against Biden (he never cites evidence!) pic.twitter.com/pqlI7PXcgR
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 12, 2023
In response to a request for comment and information on evidence of a crime by Biden, Jay Ostrich, Perry's press secretary, told Newsweek that the congressman's remarks were "spot on" and "you really would have to be blind, not paying attention, or suffer from severe cognitive dissonance" to not agree that "overwhelming evidence" exists.
"Since January, House Republicans have uncovered an overwhelming amount of evidence showing that President Biden outright and knowingly lied to the American People regarding his knowledge of and participation in his family's influence-peddling schemes," Ostrich said.
"That reporter must have missed that bank records, suspicious activity reports, emails, texts, and witness testimony have all revealed that Biden allowed his family to sell him as 'the brand' all around the world," he added.
The Freedom Caucus press conference had been convened to discuss the group's decision to not support funding the government past September 30 unless a series of conservative policy demands are met.
It is questionable whether the Biden impeachment inquiry would have moved forward if McCarthy had brought the matter to a vote.
Some Republicans—notably including Representative Ken Buck, a Freedom Caucus member—have rejected or expressed skepticism about launching an inquiry due to a lack of evidence.
In a statement emailed to Newsweek, White House spokesperson Ian Sams said, "House Republicans have been investigating the President for 9 months, and they've turned up no evidence of wrongdoing."
"[McCarthy's] own Republican members have said so," Sams continued. "He vowed to hold a vote to open impeachment, now he flip flopped because he doesn't have support. This is extreme politics at its worst."
The inquiry was launched after Trump, who was impeached twice by a House then controlled by Democrats, pleaded not guilty to 91 felony charges across four different criminal proceedings. Trump and Biden are the leading Republican and Democratic candidates, respectively, in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Update 09/12/23, 7:16 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include a statement from Ostrich, Perry's press secretary.
