Bribery Allegations at Heart of House Impeachment Inquiry

Efforts by House Republicans to impeach President Joe Biden center around the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, The Hill reported.

That’s because bribery is one of the few crimes spelled out as an impeachable offense in the Constitution.

“The impeachable offense is — I think, the key thing is in Burisma,” House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, recently said.

Republicans say they believe Biden conditioned a $1 billion loan guarantee to Ukraine on firing state prosecutor Viktor Shokin in an effort to help Burisma, The Hill reported Thursday.

Republicans argue that the loan guarantee benefited Burisma and, by extension, Hunter Biden, a company board member.

But Republicans must prove it.

“The political problem we have is that politically, it would be very nice if you had what everybody calls the smoking gun. The reality is, in a lot of these large-scale cases, there never is,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., The Hill reported.

“There’s a totality of evidence and a totality of circumstances that says there is no rational explanation for all of it.”

Although impeachments are political exercises, lawmakers and the accused often turn to court standards for guidance.

Legal experts say the GOP must prove a quid pro quo to prevail in court.

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