'Almost certainly fail': Columnist says Comer's next step will likely end impeachment

House Republicans could be on the brink of "waving the white flag" as their efforts to impeach President Joe Biden look dead, Steve Benen wrote for MSNBC's MaddowBlog on Monday.

The GOP, led by Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), have been pursuing impeachment on the theory that Biden laundered international bribes through his son Hunter's foreign business dealings — but there is no concrete evidence yet to support this.

Multiple hearings saw Republican star witnesses like former Hunter Biden business partner Tony Bobulinski going off the rails as scorn mounted for an effort that has yet to produce a smoking gun.

There aren't many places left they can take the investigation, Benen wrote.

"Following months of humiliating failures, Politico recently reported that behind the scenes, GOP officials were quietly admitting that Comer’s campaign against President Joe Biden has been 'hobbled by embarrassing setbacks.' Punchbowl News, meanwhile, quoted a House GOP leadership aide who said Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan were 'becoming the chairmen who cried wolf.'" Indeed, wrote Benen, some pro-Trump Republicans are publicly admitting this isn't in the cards, with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) saying a vote on impeachment is "not gonna happen."

One other option they have is to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department and hope they indict Biden — which has always been Comer's backup plan, according to Benen.

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"This will almost certainly fail," added Benen. "If the Oversight Committee chairman couldn’t clear a modest threshold while trying to make his case to his own Republican colleagues, what makes him think he’ll clear a higher threshold while making a pitch to federal prosecutors — who are required to actually have and present real evidence in a courtroom while complying with legal standards?"

Ultimately, Benen concluded, if Comer chooses to make a referral rather than hold an impeachment vote, "When prosecutors put Comer’s pitch in a circular file, it will quietly bring the entire fiasco to an ignominious end."