WASHINGTON — House Republicans seemed split on the impeachment of Joe Biden when Raw Story questioned them on Tuesday.
The House Rules Committee passed an impeachment inquiry to be voted on by the full House. But the "inquiry" has been an ongoing plan ushered in by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). He directed the House Oversight Committee "to open a formal impeachment inquiry."
Three months later, new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is asking for the same thing, but he's asking the full House to vote on the inquiry.
The plan appears to be a kind of legislative "choose your own adventure tale," with each member having a different understanding of whether the inquiry is or is not a legitimate impeachment.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) told Raw Story, “The White House has kind of begged us to take this formal step” of an impeachment vote. He claimed that the Justice Department has been dragging its feet on handing over information. He also said that the White House is refusing to turn over information. What the Oversight Committee is seeking is to interview all of the Biden family members, full Biden staff, and White House aides.
Hunter Biden has said that he would cooperate and testify but only if it was in public, not behind closed doors. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) has refused, saying the initial questioning must happen in secret.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) promised Raw Story, that it’s not a real impeachment: “It’s just an inquiry."
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Bacon said, however, he's ready to vote for it. "If you say 'impeachment,' people are like, what, whoa. But it's an inquiry. And if the president won't provide information, it kind of forces our hand."
He said in August that Biden was turning over all of the information requested by the Oversight and Judiciary Committees and asked, "Why do we need an inquiry? We don't have any evidence of any high crimes and misdemeanors. So, I was not supportive of an inquiry."
After the White House refused to turn over banking documents without actually voting on a formal impeachment, Bacon said he wanted to move forward.
Democrats argue that the GOP probes into Biden through his son Hunter have turned up nothing and that the Republican "inquiry" is nothing more of an investigation in search of a crime, not a probe into a suspected crime.
Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL) said, “They’re having a hard time getting information, and the DOJ is being really, really difficult so this will help them get access." That said, he's uncertain if voters will know the difference between an impeachment inquiry announced by McCarthy, the one being voted on by the House this week, and a House vote on impeachment outlined in the Constitution.
He is convinced by the recent information discovered by Comer (R-KY) showing Biden's son repaid him after he helped buy a truck. Republicans have said that the truck repayments from Hunter Biden are a funneling mechanism to give the president money from China.
Comer's statement claimed the payments "are part of a pattern revealing Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefited from his family’s influence-peddling schemes."
The Bidens took photos with the truck and were generally excited about the new vehicle. It was purchased in 2018 when Biden wasn't serving in any office and before he announced he'd be running in 2020.
Despite that, Rep. Díaz-Balart saw "some pretty amazing s--t, man," he told Raw Story. "I mean, it’s some pretty amazing stuff. The fact that we now have direct checks going to the vice president, he’s been denying that."
The denials he's referenced are that foreign countries were using his family members to funnel money to him as part of a bribery scheme. Biden never denied his son paid him back for the "Bank of Dad" loan for the 2018 Ford Raptor.
"You know, everything they did looks bad," said Rep. Bacon. "A lot of cash. A lot of money. But, what crime is that other than — it's corruption? But not necessarily illegal. But they're cashing in on the name and, uh, I've not had a lawyer say, hey, that's a crime, right? You've got to be able to show some kind of bribery or you're being paid to do somethin'."
He reinforced the importance of the impeachment not being a real one. He thinks he can explain that to voters back home. Right now, he said he's hearing, "Bacon is caving on impeachment."
“I think an actual impeachment, at this point, would be terrible politics,” Bacon continued. And most Republicans “won’t vote for an impeachment and it won’t pass the House."
He went on to point out that anyone who has done an impeachment in the past has lost.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) reinforced that it was more than just an inquiry this time around.
"It’s not an impeachment joke like it was those last two times," he told Raw Story. "It is an inquiry…. so I think it’s perfectly appropriate." He didn't explain how this inquiry would be different from the one from McCarthy, however.
“For some people, it’s a payback," Rep. Bacon agreed. "And it’s not good for America and a lot of Republicans feel that way. We can’t have revenge impeachment it’s not good. It doesn’t work in marriage either."
Raw Story asked Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) about the impeachment and the slim majority in the House with only one Republican member. He seemed confused and asked reporters to explain the math to him. With former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) gone, McCarthy leaving, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) is also expected to leave early and Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) leaving, as well, the majority has shrunk to a single vote.
