House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a key figure in the Republican impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, appears to be suggesting a shift in strategy away from pursuing articles of impeachment.
Facing reluctance from some GOP members to back impeachment efforts, Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, is conveying doubts about the feasibility of such a move, citing anticipated opposition from Democrats.
In a recent fundraising email, Comer attributed the potential futility of impeachment to Senate Democrats, labeling them as “deranged” and indicating their presumed dismissal of the House impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as indicative of their stance on Biden’s impeachment.
In the same communication, Comer proposed an alternative approach to his inquiry, suggesting that instead of pursuing a Senate trial, House Republicans could opt to submit criminal referrals to the Justice Department. These referrals, Comer argues, would provide grounds for future prosecution under a potential Donald Trump administration, should Republicans reclaim the White House in the upcoming election.
“It’s clear that Democrats will choose their party over their country and the truth at every turn,” Comer stated in the email. “They should be ashamed of themselves. That’s why I am preparing criminal referrals as the culmination of my investigation.”
Criminal referrals are nonbinding recommendations made by Congress to the Justice Department, which holds the authority to decide whether to take action.
With a narrow GOP majority in the House, party leaders face challenges in garnering sufficient support for Biden’s impeachment, particularly among Republican lawmakers in swing districts that Biden won in 2020. Winning Democratic votes is not anticipated.
Despite these obstacles, a GOP spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee emphasized that “impeachment is 100% still on the table,” underscoring ongoing investigations into President Biden’s alleged abuse of public office.
However, achieving a conviction and removal from office via impeachment requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority. Senate Democrats can vote to dismiss an impeachment inquiry with a simple majority, a scenario likely to unfold with the House-passed impeachment of Mayorkas. Some Democratic senators, including Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have signaled their intent to vote for dismissal.
In a recent interview on Fox News Radio, Comer attributed media reports of a lack of concrete evidence against Biden in the inquiry to collusion between Attorney General Merrick Garland and the so-called “deep state,” a term often invoked by former President Donald Trump to allege a conspiracy among entrenched government officials against him and his supporters.
The Republican investigation has spotlighted Hunter Biden’s communications with his father, but witnesses, including Hunter Biden himself and former business associates, have testified that President Biden was not involved in their business activities. An FBI informant central to the GOP probe was arrested and charged with lying to the bureau about the Bidens.
Despite these developments, Comer pledged to summon President Biden to testify in the inquiry, although no formal invitation has been issued by the committee. The White House, through counsel Edward Siskel, has called for an end to the investigation, asserting that “this impeachment is over” and urging a focus on pressing matters affecting the American people.