Some House Republicans are openly admitting that they have no evidence to impeach President Joe Biden. But they are still preparing to vote to officially launch a probe into him later this week.
When asked if Biden committed high crimes or misdemeanors, Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told reporters on Tuesday, “Probably not.”
“They’re getting millions of dollars off the Biden name,” Bacon said, but added, “that’s not to say there was a crime by the president.” Bacon told Fox News that he changed his position from opposing the inquiry in the last two weeks because Biden’s administration has indicated it would not be providing documents if the House doesn’t hold a formal impeachment inquiry. “Well I translate that to say, ‘We better pass an impeachment inquiry so we can get this information,” Bacon explained.
The lower chamber of Congress is set to vote formally approve the inquiry on Wednesday. Ahead of the vote, the resolution to authorize the was considered by House Rules Committee on Tuesday.
A separate resolution the committee will consider would assert that any subpoenas issued after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the investigation in late September — but before the full House vote — carry the same legal weight as subpoenas issued after the vote.
House Republicans have a slim margin for error in the vote as they can only afford to have three dissenters within their ranks to approve the impeachment probe if all members are present and Democrats vote no.
Several of the 17 Republicans in district Biden won in 2020, along with other center-right lawmakers, have been skeptical about proceeding with the inquiry. Speaker Mike Johnson, who recognized many Republican representatives don’t believe Biden has committed impeachable offenses, has floated the vote as an opportunity to imbue the investigation with greater powers.
The GOP, like Bacon, has also argued that the move is now necessary in order to get around what they claim is the Biden administration’s stonewalling of the inquiry.
“The concerns are very real, and the evidence is stacked up to a level where I believe going forward in a formal impeachment inquiry is justified,” Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., one of the 17 Republicans told the Washington Examiner. “We need the complete set of facts. And I am going to support the committee to get the complete set of facts.”
Despite plans to move forward with the vote, more Republicans are saying there isn’t enough evidence to impeach Biden, who has been under congressional scrutiny since the GOP assumed control of the House earlier this year.
Republican Main Street Caucus chair Dusty Johnson, South Dakota, said Monday that “there’s not evidence to impeach,” but said the vote this week was not about whether the party would impeach the president or not.