GOP Rep. James Comer on Sunday was bullish about the prospect of formally authorizing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, expecting moderate Republicans who had previously been reticent to join him after meeting their constituents “at Walmart” over Thanksgiving.
Comer, who is chairing the impeachment inquiry, thinks that “15 or 20 moderates” in his caucus have blocked efforts to make a formal inquiry out of fear of the media.
“Great things happen at Thanksgiving. Members come home…and they meet people at Walmart and people on Main Street,” Comer told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“They heard from their constituents, ‘yes, we want you to move forward,'” he added. “So we came together at a time when I think it’s no secret that our conference is broken in many ways.
The Kentucky Republican suggested that the House caucus is “broken.” AP
White House spokesman Ian Sams quickly mocked the Kentucky Republican in response.
“Jamie Comer: ‘Burisma, it’s the talk of Walmart across the country!!!,’” Sams wrote with a laughing emoji on the X.
In September, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) began an impeachment inquiry, a fact-finding operation distinct from an official impeachment.
Historically, impeachment inquiries required a formal House vote to begin.
Back in 2019, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opened the first impeachment inquiry into former President Donald Trump without a floor vote.
The investigation opened on September 24, 2019, with Democrats formally authorizing it on October 31. 2019.
President Biden insists he is not involved in the business affairs of his son, Hunter. Reuters
Comer is not alone in his belief that House Republicans will open the investigation.
“I believe we will,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Fox News on Saturday when asked about the investigation’s legitimacy.
“I suspect no Democrats will help in this effort, but they should.”
The White House has accused House Republicans of launching an “unconstitutional” investigation due to a lack of official authorization.
Republicans have issued subpoenas against several key players in the investigation such as Hunter Biden’s eldest son and the president’s brother James Biden.
Lack of official authorization can give the witness potential legal ammunition against a subpoena.
Last Tuesday, Hunter Biden’s lawyer Abbe Lowell appeared to taunt Republicans on the impeachment panel with an offer to testify publicly on December 13, instead of privately.
Republicans refused.
James Comer previously suggested he would support impeachment efforts against the president. CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
“Five minutes for every lawmaker and we’ve seen that Democrats don’t have the inclination to be able to behave accordingly. They screamed and screamed,” explained Comer.
Comer, who chairs the powerful House Oversight Committee, one of three panels empaneled in the impeachment inquiry, criticized Democrats for mounting a defensive campaign to support the president.
“They have tried to mislead the American people with misinformation about everything in this investigation from day one, from the laptop to the fake Russian information, to how these bank records were somehow manipulated by Rudy Giuliani,” he said.
“It’s ridiculous what the Democrats are doing in their never-ending quest to be criminal defense attorneys for the Biden family.”
Biden’s defenders have accused Republicans of waging a partisan crusade against him and trying to distance the president from his family’s business dealings.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
