WATCH: Reporters Fire Impeachment Questions At Biden — Hours Later President Speaks Out
Reporters fired questions at President Joe Biden about the just-announced impeachment inquiry, but would have to wait several hours for Biden to speak out for the first time on the issue.
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced he was calling for the launch of an impeachment inquiry without a vote of the full House, in the face of a membership that can’t provide sufficient support to prevail in such a vote. Shortly thereafter, CNN reported that Trump privately coordinated with House GOP members on impeachment strategy.
The White House immediately went on the offensive, with White House Spokesperson for Oversight & Investigations Ian Sams putting out a statement and making the rounds on cable news. And on Wednesday morning, Sams dropped a 16-page dossier demanding the media “do your job” and call out Republican “lies.”
But the president himself had still not spoken publicly about the inquiry when he and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden held a meeting of the Cancer Cabinet at the White House on Wednesday.
As remarks at the top of the meeting wrapped, reporters fired a cacophony of questions at the president, many of which were indistinct amid the din, but there were many audible cries of “Mr. President, reaction to the impeachment inquiry?” and variations thereof.
The president gave nothing in the way of a verbal response, and very little in the way of physical cues as the press were led out of the Cabinet Room.
But several hours later, Biden brought up the inquiry at a campaign reception in McLean, Virginia at the home of prominent boosters David Frederick and Sophie Lynn.
Near the end of his remarks, the president said:
“Well, I tell you what, I don’t know quite why, but they just knew they wanted to impeach me. And now, the best I can tell, they want to impeach me because they want to shut down the government.”
“So look, look, I got a job to do. Everybody always asked about impeachment. I get up every day, not a joke, not focused on impeachment. I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single solitary day.”
Watch above via C-SPAN.
