House Oversight Chairman James Comer has officially invited President Joe Biden to testify at a public hearing as House Republicans attempt to revive their stalled impeachment inquiry into the president. The White House quickly shot down the move as a “sad stunt,” pointing out that over 20 witnesses have testified that Biden did nothing wrong and hundreds of thousands of pages of records have refuted the allegations. Despite this, Comer suggested a hearing on April 16 and expressed willingness to negotiate a date that worked with the president’s schedule.
House Republicans have struggled to find any evidence of wrongdoing by Biden, leading to doubts within GOP ranks about the feasibility of an impeachment given the lack of votes in their narrow majority. Instead of impeachment, Republicans are considering sending criminal referrals to the Department of Justice as a way to hold Biden accountable amid pressure from the right-wing base. After extensive investigations that included over 100,000 pages of documents and multiple interviews, Republicans have failed to uncover any evidence to support their allegations against the president.
Comer’s letter to Biden outlined the four phases of the investigation, which included obtaining bank records and witness testimony that led to the decision to seek the president’s testimony. In addition to public testimony, Comer requested written responses from Biden regarding his interactions with his son’s foreign business associates and the money lent to his brother as a private citizen. While various Biden family business associates have testified to superficial interactions with the president, none have indicated discussions about business deals. Biden has denied claims that he was involved in any business dealings with his family.
As Republicans look for a way to conclude the investigation in an election year, Comer has suggested that criminal referrals may be a more viable option than impeachment. He highlighted the unlikelihood of impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas going anywhere as a reason to pursue criminal referrals instead. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the Mayorkas impeachment articles will be sent to the Senate on April 10. Comer has stated that his role was never to impeach and has suggested that a successful end to the inquiry may not necessarily involve impeachment.
Overall, the Republican-led inquiry into President Joe Biden has failed to produce evidence of wrongdoing despite extensive investigations and witness testimonies. The invitation to Biden to testify at a public hearing has been met with skepticism and dismissed as a political stunt by the White House. As House Republicans debate their next steps, they are considering criminal referrals as a way to address calls from their base to hold Biden accountable. The ongoing investigation has yet to produce significant results, raising questions about the feasibility and implications of pursuing impeachment proceedings against the president.
