Seven months after they launched the impeachment inquiry into the president, Republican leaders insist they do not measure success by whether or not they actually hold a vote to impeach Joe Biden, but they still are not ruling it out.
Instead of an impeachment vote, House Republicans voted to refer Hunter and James Biden, not Joe, to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal prosecution, where Biden’s DOJ inevitably ignored their suggestion.
Now, Oversight Chairman James Comer insists he was not seeking an impeachment vote: He always thought the investigation would end in referrals.
“I’ve been saying for almost a year that this would end with a criminal referral,” he told DailyMail.com in an interview.
He said the impeachment inquiry was the idea of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Oversight Chairman James Comer insists he was not seeking an impeachment vote: He always thought the investigation would end in referrals.
“The impeachment inquiry was a phase that McCarthy devised to try to help us gain more standing in the court. It really had nothing to do with impeachment,” Comer continued.
For the past half year, the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees have sought evidence to link Joe Biden to Hunter Biden’s shady dealings.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a floor vote to authorize the investigation and give Republicans better standing in court when Biden’s team withheld documents they had subpoenaed. But privately, Republicans worried that opening an impeachment inquiry without even impeaching the president could look like an exoneration.
“The Senate was never going to convict Joe Biden,” the Oversight Committee chairman admitted.
‘So our goal was twofold. One, get the truth to the American people, and I think we have done that. And number two is preventing this from happening in the future, which is what we’re focused on now. Influence peddling is a gray area in government.’
He pointed to the White House ethics bill he recently introduced with Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California.
For the past half year, the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees have sought evidence to link Joe Biden to Hunter Biden’s shady dealings.
After testimony on Capitol Hill by Hunter, James and dozens of their former business partners, Republicans showed how Hunter and James benefited from their last name and introduced Biden to their business partner.
The bill, which would strengthen foreign income disclosure requirements for the president and his family members, lost support among Democrats after the White House reportedly made phone calls urging them to withdraw their backing, but Comer insisted it would pass the House and Senate this Congress.
Still, Comer refused to rule out impeaching the president. “Look, we can still impeach Joe Biden, I think we should. But you know, it’s getting very late in the game.”
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan told DailyMail.com they were just working to “get the facts out” and it would be up to the leadership to decide whether or not a vote would be held.
“I think the case is compelling, but if we move forward with the specific articles, that will be a decision that the entire House of Representatives will have to make,” he said.
As for what’s next: “I think we’re working on gathering all the facts and we’ll get to a point where we’ll present it to the full Congress and see what Congress does.”
After testimony on Capitol Hill from Hunter, James and dozens of their former business partners, Republicans showed how Hunter and James benefited from their last name and introduced Biden to their business partners, and pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was investigating a company whose board Hunter Biden sat on: Burisma.
Biden Sr. said he did it because the prosecutor was corrupt, not because it had anything to do with his son.
But Republicans found no clear evidence that Joe Biden was using influence to line his own pockets.
They said the Biden family made $20 million in foreign deals, but much of that amount went to Hunter and James or their business partners.
Comer still holds out hope that his investigation will lead to more legal headaches for the Biden family.
He answers affirmatively when asked if he believes the Justice Department would accept criminal referrals if Donald Trump wins the November election.
