Biden is facing impeachment inquiry, not trial, as of March 2024 | Fact check

Isabel C. Morales, USA TODAY
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The claim: Biden impeachment trial began in March 2024

[En Español: Biden enfrenta una investigación de destitución, no un juicio, en marzo de 2024]

A March 10 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows video of a woman talking into a microphone in Spanish and President Joe Biden speaking at a lectern.

“IT'S OVER! POLITICAL TRIAL AGAINST BIDEN BEGINS,” reads the post’s on-screen text in Spanish.

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Our rating: False

There is no ongoing impeachment trial against Biden. In December 2023, the House of Representatives voted to formalize an impeachment inquiry into Biden, but that does not mean Biden will face an impeachment trial.

Biden is facing impeachment inquiry, has not been impeached

The post claims Biden is in the midst of an impeachment trial, but the Republican majority in the House of Representatives only took the first steps in the process to impeach the president by approving an impeachment inquiry on Dec. 13, 2023.

The inquiry is intended to investigate whether there is enough evidence to warrant an impeachment.

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Republicans have accused the president of benefiting financially from his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, but they have yet to produce evidence of wrongdoing.

The beginning of an impeachment trial would be significant news, but there are no credible news reports about such a development.

If the House decides to proceed with the process, the Judiciary Committee will draft the articles of impeachment with input from other House committees and determine whether the articles should be referred to a vote by the full House. If approved, a simple majority vote is required to impeach the president.

After that, the Senate will serve as a court, hearing evidence and voting on whether to acquit or convict Biden in an impeachment trial. If convicted, Biden would be removed from office. However, a conviction requires a two-thirds vote, which is unlikely in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Three U.S. presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998 and Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021. None of the three were convicted in the Senate.

USA TODAY previously debunked false claims in July and October 2023 that alleged Biden had been impeached.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Biden impeachment trial did not begin in March 2024 | Fact check