#sham impeachment inquiry

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Dan Piraro]

* * * *

A watershed moment for the truth.

February 16, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

On a day bristling with important news, the criminal indictment of the “star” witness against President Biden and Hunter Biden in the impeachment inquiry was a watershed moment for the truth. Per the indictment, the GOP’s primary source of allegations of corruption against President Biden lied to FBI agents, concocting a fiction for MAGA media outlets and politicians eager to spread slanderous statements.

The revelation that the “impeachment inquiry” against Biden was built on a house of lies comes hard on the heels of an admission from one of the primary proponents of the 2020 election fraud conspiracy theory that it has no evidence to support its allegations of widespread fraud!

Together, the false stories of “Biden’s corruption” and “election fraud” were major components of the GOP playbook in the 2024 presidential election. Those narratives have now collapsed in a spectacular implosion. That collapse is good for President Biden politically—but the immediate political ramification is not the most important point.

The major takeaway is this: The Republican party is built on lies and sustains itself through lies. They know it. We know it. The media knows it. But now, we have proof that the bad-faith headlines, breathless “whataboutism,” and lazy “both-siderism” of the media are part of a disinformation campaign that must stop.

These twin developments are a watershed moment for the truth.

Let’s take a look.

DOJ indicts FBI informant who was the primary source for allegations of corruption against Joe Biden.

The House “impeachment” inquiry has been a conspiracy theory in search of evidence from the start. House Oversight Chair James Comer took testimony from disgruntled IRS agents with no personal knowledge (but plenty of opinions) and from Hunter Biden’s business partner, who said Joe Biden never participated in his son’s business dealings.

Desperate for proof, Republicans turned to a confidential source, Alexander Smirnov, who claimed to have personal knowledge of alleged bribery ($5 million) by then former Vice President Biden arising from Hunter Biden’s involvement in a Ukrainian energy company (“Burisma”).

On Thursday, a grand jury in the Central District of California issued an indictment against Smirnov for lying to the FBI. The indictment is here: US v. Smirnov | Indictment No. 2:24-CR-00091-ODW. For a summary of the indictment and related details, see NYTimes, Ex-F.B.I. Informant Is Charged With Lying Over Bidens’ Role in Ukraine Business.

Per the Times,

The longtime informant, Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of falsely telling the F.B.I. that Hunter Biden, then a paid board member of the energy giant Burisma, demanded the money to protect the company from an investigation by the country’s prosecutor general at the time.

Importantly, the indictment alleges a political motivation for Smirnov to lie about Biden:

Mr. Smirnov’s motivation for lying, prosecutors wrote, appears to have been political. During the 2020 campaign, he sent his F.B.I. handler “a series of messages expressing bias” against Joseph R. Biden Jr., including texts, replete with typos and misspellings, boasting that he had information that would put him in jail.

Smirnov’s allegations were demonstrably false, as explained by the Times:

In 2015 or 2016, Hunter Biden promised to protect the company “through his dad, from all kinds of problems,” Mr. Smirnov falsely claimed to his bureau handler in 2020, according to Mr. Weiss, who has charged the president’s son twice over the past year on tax and gun charges. This claim was easily disproved, prosecutors said: Mr. Smirnov was only in contact with Burisma executives in 2017, after Mr. Biden left office — when he “had no ability to influence U.S. policy.” Mr. Smirnov told F.B.I. investigators that he had seen footage of Hunter Biden entering a hotel in Kyiv, Ukraine, that was “wired” by the Russians, suggesting that Russia may have recorded phone calls made by Mr. Biden from the hotel, according to the indictment.

But Mr. Biden had never been to Ukraine, let alone that hotel, prosecutors wrote.

Importantly, the indictment was obtained by special counsel David C. Weiss, who was appointed by Merrick Garland to investigate Hunter Biden. Weiss—who was first appointed as a US Attorney by Donald Trump—has obtained two indictments against Hunter Biden for gun possession and tax evasion charges.

The fact that Smirnov was indicted by the special counsel appointed to investigate Hunter Biden rebuts any notion that the indictment is politically motivated.

Smirnov’s false statements provided the only substantive allegations in the sham “impeachment inquiry” in the House and received massive coverage by an eager news media (especially on Fox News). Those news organizations should retract or correct their previous reporting. It is not enough to report on the indictment of Smirnov.

The most important point is that the GOP’s narrative of a “Biden crime family” is a fiction based on perjured statements provided to the FBI! Tell a friend!

[MORE]

[originalleftist]

Republicans want to have Biden testify in front of their sham, literally based on information they got from a Russian agent, impeachment inquiry. Because I guess getting humiliated on international television by Biden once in one month wasn't enough for them.

[anamericangirl]

"Nah it was for totally fabricated and unfounded claims of abuse of power and obstructing congress."

He denied Ukraine military aid and an invitation to the white house in an attempt to make them falsely announce that they were doing an investigation into Joe Biden and were responsible for the interference in the 2016 election.

It was PROVEN that he did this.

The House Intelligence Committee found EXTENSIVE PROOF that he did this (read the inquiry yourself, it's officially titled The Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report, it's 300 pages long and details numerous phone calls between Trump and Zelensky, numerous firsthand testimonies from staff members, diplomats, and officials, and numerous text messages between staff members, diplomats, and officials, all of which extensively proves that Trump did what he was accused of well beyond a reasonable doubt).

That's why he was charged with of abuse of power (since doing what he did is legally considered an abuse of power).

The charge of obstruction of Congress came from the fact he tried to PREVENT the House Intellegence Committee from preforming that inquiry by incorrectly using his power of executive privilege to prevent his aides from testifying before congress or turn over documents, and because he repeatedly instructed staff members to refuse to comply with congressional supeonas.

The president can't use the power of executive privilege to hide the misdeeds of himself or other members of the executive branch. Both Nixon and Clinton tried that too.

To say that those claims were "fabricated" or "unfounded" despite ALL the evidence showing that those claims were true, valid, and founded is nothing less than complete delusion.

You are not mentally well.

Your TDS is terminal.

It was not proven he did that I read the transcript of the actual phone call that the whole sham impeachment was based on and he simply did not do what they accused him of. You are a fool for believing there was any sort of proof whatsoever. The claims were fabricated and unfounded and that is proven by reading the transcript. You are simply brainwashed and believe whatever democrats tell you.

And you clearly do not know what "TDS" is lmao. That's what you have, not me.

I hope you get smarter.

[neuropsyche]

BREAKING: MAGA Congressman Matt Gaetz lets the cat out of the bag on his own party and admits that the impeachment inquiry into President Biden is a total sham.

This is going to INFURIATE other Republicans...

According to new reporting from NBC News, Gaetz stated during a Zoom fundraiser that he doesn't "believe that we are endeavoring upon a legitimate impeachment of Joe Biden.”

He went on to tell MAGA criminal mastermind Steve Bannon that the impeachment efforts are a "forever war" and will "drag on forever and end in a bloody draw."

He added that the failure to send a formal subpoena to Hunter Biden indicates that Republicans aren't serious about the impeachment but instead want to use it to attack Biden.

The remarks come right on the tail of Gaetz's successful effort to remove Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership and indicate that he isn't done attacking his own party just yet.

In this case, Gaetz is right for once. The impeachment inquiry has been a cheap PR stunt from the beginning. Republicans have no real allegations to level at Biden and have been relying on vague accusations of "corruption."

The simple truth is that Joe Biden is the most successful president in recent history and Republicans have nothing to attack him on.

[worldofwardcraft]

Donald and the Giant Impeach.

September 21, 2023

Last week, temporary Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced he was ordering an inquiry into impeaching President Joe Biden. This despite Bill Barr's Justice Department issuing a legally binding opinion in 2020 that impeachment inquiries are invalid without an official vote of the House. Spoiler: Kev didn't have the votes. He also doesn't have any specific offenses with which to charge the president. But never mind.

This isn't the first time Republicans have used impeachment — normally a serious and rarely used constitutional remedy — as a partisan weapon. They were absolutely giddy over impeaching Bill Clinton in 1998 for the "High Crime" of lying about an affair with a White House intern. But then they were totally fine about excusing crime boss Donald Trump for (1) extorting the head of a foreign country for personal political advantage and (2) attempting to overturn a legitimate election, thwart the peaceful transfer of power and end American democracy. You know, unimportant stuff.

Now, after eight months of combined investigations by their Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees, House Republicans in their search for any wrongdoing by the president have turned up exactly zilch. Regardless, the MAGA clown caucus remains dead set on impeaching him (Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has already filed articles). But who's behind this crusade to impeach yet another Democratic president for no reason? Take a wild guess.

While you're guessing, CNN has the answer: Donald Trump is coordinating the sham impeachment scheme with two key members of the House Republican Conference. On Sunday, prior to the announcement, Trump dined at his Bedminster golf motel with McCarthy's puppetmaster, congresswoman Greene, during which they discussed making the impeachment inquiry “long and excruciatingly painful for Joe Biden.” He also reportedly spoke by phone with Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik to discuss "impeachment inquiry strategy."

Trump has been pushing Biden's impeachment for months in all-caps tirades on Truth Social, his failing social media platform. Like this one from July.

So, they impeach me over a "perfect" phone call, and they don’t impeach Biden for being the most corrupt president in the history of the United States???

Trump thinks impeaching Biden will minimize the stigma of his own impeachments, divert attention from the 91 felonies charged against him, and help him win in 2024. Plus, as always, he wants revenge. Last month, his message to congressional Republicans was “Either impeach the bum, or fade into oblivion. They did it to us!” And as Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says, "When Donald Trump says jump, extreme MAGA Republicans say how high."

[izooks]

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/moskowitz-hilariously-trolls-gop-impeachment-inquiry

Florida Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz has hilariously trolled the Republican Party's attempt to impeach President Biden over now-debunked allegations.

Today, Moskowitz wore a Vladimir Putin mask to the latest Republican impeachment hearing, and plans on asking questions of witnesses while wearing the mask.

Republicans have been caught using literal Kremlin assets who have admitted to lying to try to impeach President Joe Biden.

While Republicans continue to fumble over themselves, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with this impeachment, Moskowitz and his fellow Democrats continue to masterfully troll them and the entire sham of a process and expose the GOP scandal for the entire world to see.

[sentinelleblr]

"the FBI informant engaged in election interference with the help of Russia to prevent Joe Biden from being elected! And that information formed the core of the sham impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden in the House! This is a big deal. It deserves a LOT of attention from the major media outlets that devoted hundreds of major articles and broadcasts to repeating false information about Joe Biden that Russian intelligence agents planted!"

[steadhammond]

No smoking gun to support Biden impeachment, Rep. Dingell says - POLITICO

* No smoking gun to support Biden impeachment, Rep. Dingell says  POLITICO * Jamie Raskin delivers nightmare blow to Republicans over sham impeachment  MSNBC * Brooks and Marcus on impact of Biden impeachment inquiry  PBS NewsHour * House Republicans authorize impeachment investigation into Joe Biden. What's next?  USA TODAY * The Path to Biden Impeachment - WSJ  The Wall Street Journal

[arpov-blog-blog]

..."In press releases, media interviews and speeches from the floor in the days before the vote, Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House oversight committee, and others highlighted three instances of potential wrongdoing that Comer says warrant the expanded powers of a congressional impeachment inquiry to enforce subpoenas. The resolution to proceed to a formal impeachment inquiry — which Republican leaders noted does not equal an impeachment — was passed along party lines, 221 to 212.

Comer cited three “direct monthly payments to Joe Biden from Hunter Biden’s business entity” as evidence that Joe Biden profited from a deal Hunter Biden made with a Chinese energy company. But Hunter Biden’s attorney said the payments — which totaled a little over $4,000 — simply reflect Hunter Biden repaying his father, who bought him a truck while Hunter was in the throes of drug and alcohol addiction. That explanation appears to be corroborated by emails obtained from Hunter Biden’s laptop, as reported by the New York Post last year.

Comer also referenced a $40,000 payment to Joe Biden from his brother, Jim. Comer called the payment “laundered China money,” but the check was labeled “loan repayment,” and a similar sum was transferred from a Joe Biden-tied account to his brother less than two months prior.

Comer also argued that a 2018 email from a bank money laundering investigator, who identified red flags about millions of dollars from a Chinese company transferred to a company controlled by Hunter Biden, lent credence to the oversight committee’s accusations of money laundering.

In that email, the bank investigator wrote that Hunter Biden’s company, Owasco PC, received large sums from the Chinese company even though Owasco “does not appear to have any services rendered” and had “no current business purpose.” Given news reports about China “targeting children of politicians and purchase of political influence through ‘sweetheart deals'” and other news reports about Hunter’s “extravagant spending on his own interests (drugs, strip clubs, prostitutes, etc.),” the investigator warned it might be prudent for the bank to reevaluate its relationship with Hunter Biden.

Not mentioned by Comer were subsequent emails in the chain — later released by Democrats on the oversight committee — in which more senior money laundering investigators at the bank concluded the payments were “reasonable and consistent with the business profile” and showed no signs of bribery payments.

On Dec. 4, Comer released subpoenaed bank records that he said showed “direct monthly payments to Joe Biden from Hunter Biden’s business entity.”

The redacted bank records released by Comer show a $1,380 payment on Sept. 15, 2018, from Owasco to Joe Biden’s personal checking account, the first of three monthly payments of that amount.

“This wasn’t a payment from Hunter Biden’s personal account but an account for his corporation that received payments from China and other shady corners of the world,” Comer said in a video accompanying a press release. “Payments from Hunter’s business entity to Joe Biden are now part of a pattern revealing Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefited from his family’s influence peddling schemes.”

Comer said Joe Biden and his family “must be held accountable for this blatant corruption.”

Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, responded to Comer’s release of the check with this statement: “There Chairman Comer goes again – reheating what is old as new to try to revive his sham of an investigation. The truth is Hunter’s father helped him when he was struggling financially due to his addiction and could not secure credit to finance a truck. When Hunter was able to, he paid his father back and took over the payments himself.”

Lowell’s explanation for Owasco’s payments to Joe Biden comports with reporting from the New York Post in April 2022, based on emails it says it obtained from a hard drive purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden.

Citing an email from Hunter Biden’s personal assistant at the time, the New York Post story said that in 2018 and 2019 — after Joe Biden left office but before he began his run for president — Joe Biden “agreed to cover more than $800,000 in bills racked up by his son — including legal fees tied to the winding down of his controversial overseas business dealings.” The story included a spreadsheet of other Hunter Biden debts assumed by his father, including “payments and insurance for a Porsche, a Ford truck and a boat; tuition for Hunter’s daughters to attend the University of Pennsylvania and the private Sidwell Friends School; and $37,000 a month to his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle.”

The 2019 spreadsheet published by the New York Post included regular $1,380 payments for a “2018 Ford Raptor Truck Payment.” According to notes on the spreadsheet, that was “Payment to JRB from RHB – autopay owasco acct.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Joe Biden bought the truck for Hunter in June 2018 from a dealership in Wilmington because, according to a now-retired salesman who did the deal, Hunter’s credit “wasn’t worth spit.”

Comer and others have also raised the issue of a $40,000 check to Joe Biden from his brother Jim and Jim’s wife, Sara, that was labeled “loan repayment.” Comer called the payment “laundered China money.”

“We traced the fact that one of these checks that went into Joe Biden’s back pocket was a $40,000 check that came from China that just happened to be part of a $400,000 check to the company that Joe Biden was supposed to be 10% owner of, the ‘Big Guy’, and lo and behold, that 40,000 ended up being 10%,” Comer said on Newsmax on Dec. 12.

Arguing for the formal impeachment inquiry on the floor on Dec. 13, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds also cited the $40,000 paid by Jim and Sara Biden to Joe Biden.

“That’s your evidence,” Donalds said. “If you want to talk crime: bribery, co-conspirators to a FARA [Foreign Agents Registration Act] violation.”

We wrote in October about that $40,000 payment — as well as another one for $200,000 — from Jim to Joe Biden. “These bank records show that in 2017 and 2018, while President Biden was not in office, he provided two short-term loans to his brother, James, who repaid each loan within two months,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the oversight committee, said in a press release on Oct. 20.

FactCheck.org obtained an Excel spreadsheet of wire transfer records and check images that are consistent with Raskin’s account.

In a floor speech on Dec. 13 in support of the resolution for a formal impeachment inquiry, Comer said, “One bank investigator was so concerned about Hunter Biden’s financial transactions with the Chinese company that he wanted to re-evaluate the bank’s relationship with him. He noted that his transactions served ‘no current business purpose.'”

That’s true, but it’s not the whole story.

Referring to the email in an interview on Newsmax on Dec. 13, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett said, “Can you imagine if any American citizen had $30 million flowing through their bank accounts and the banks even said … ‘This is not legit.’ I mean, in their emails, they were basically saying that.”

However, the email shared publicly indicates it is the last of four pages. The first three pages were subsequently shared publicly by Democrats on the oversight committee and include more recent responses in the email chain from more senior investigators, who concluded the concerns raised in the email highlighted by Comer were unwarranted. Although the identities of those who wrote the emails were redacted, a source with direct access to the unredacted bank records provided us with their titles.

One email notes that bank officials corresponded with Mervyn Yan of Hudson West III. He outlined for bank investigators the business operations and business plan, and the projects Hudson West III was working on.

According to that email on Aug. 3, 2018, Yan told bank officials, “HW3 is an operating company for the purpose of sourcing large projects, including LNG, shale, solar and port infrastructures in US, hence the carrying cost is very high. Owasco LLC and Coldharbour are members in such pursuit. We have and continue to act on opportunities. Other than regular monthly draws, others are travel and business expenses from time to time. We have negotiated and still in the process of negotiating major port deal in Louisiana and Texas, acquisition of new solar company in California, shale frackers in Pennsylvania.

“To the extent that [t]here are no guarantees incomes derived from any of these negotiations, only time will tell, and subject to further roadshow and capital raising in China and other … markets.

“The typical deals size we are considering is over $500 million and more,” Yan wrote. “It is time consuming and a lot of efforts spent. The expenses are inline with these types of high risk high return venture activities.”

Comer also didn’t share another email sent later that day from an anti-money-laundering compliance officer who said he or she had spoken with the bank’s anti-money-laundering senior investigator, who relayed that, “based on her opinion and experience with larger banks, she thinks the activity is reasonable and consistent with the business profile,” and that she “does not see any sign of bribery” as the business activity is “clearly written in operating agreements.” The senior investigator, the email said, had noted that “The political connection makes sense as it involves the energy industry/sector, which is not easy to get into. Nothing unusual with lobby type of activity.”

“Based on her assessment the activity does not appear unusual,” the compliance officer wrote, recommending that the bank “waive and continue monitoring under PEP process.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Clay Jones :: Instead of impeaching President Biden, lying Republicans should give him an apology]

* * * *

The FBI informant who lied about Joe Biden was getting information from Russian agents.

This is important. Take a moment to let it sink in.

Recall that last week, special counsel David C. Weiss indicted an FBI informant who was the primary source of bribery allegations against Joe Biden. (Weiss is the special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, so the fact that he indicted an important informant against Hunter and Joe Biden is remarkable, to say the least).

It turns out that the informant was not merely making up lies. He was passing on lies that he obtained from Russian intelligence agents. As posted by Charlie Sykes, CNN’s Reliable Sources disclosed the following information:

The informant . . . admitted during an interview with law enforcement that "officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing" along dirt about Hunter Biden.

That's according to documents Special Counsel David Weiss filed in court Tuesday. As Todd Zwillich put it on X: “Just so everyone's clear: This would mean that Russia successfully used [Chuck] Grassley, [James] Comer, Fox News and others to damage the President of the United States and make fake info about him an article of faith on the right.” In the court filing, Weiss also underscored the weight of Alexander Smirnov's alleged lies: “The false information he provided was not trivial. It targeted the presumptive nominee of one of the two major political parties in the United States,” Weiss wrote. “The effects of Smirnov’s false statements and fabricated information continue to be felt to this day.”

In short, the FBI informant engaged in election interference with the help of Russia to prevent Joe Biden from being elected! And that information formed the core of the sham impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden in the House!

This is a big deal. It deserves a LOT of attention from the major media outlets that devoted hundreds of major articles and broadcasts to repeating false information about Joe Biden that Russian intelligence agents planted!

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[cyarsk52-20]

cyarskaren52

5h ago

221 Republicans voted to open a sham impeachment inquiry into President Biden with no evidence. Every second spent on this baseless inquiry is a waste of taxpayer dollars and a dereliction of duty by officials who were elected to represent the real needs of their constituents.

We will never forget this in 2024

[cyarskaren52]

221 Republicans voted to open a sham impeachment inquiry into President Biden with no evidence. Every second spent on this baseless inquiry is a waste of taxpayer dollars and a dereliction of duty by officials who were elected to represent the real needs of their constituents.

We will never forget this in 2024

[brijeshtiwaripune]

House Republicans Officially Open Impeachment Inquiry Against President Joe Biden – Exclusive Insights!

WASHINGTON - The House Republicans took a significant step on Wednesday by formally authorizing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The vote, which passed along party lines at 221-212, marked a crucial move toward potentially impeaching the president. Republicans have asserted that Biden benefited financially from his family's foreign business dealings, although they have not publicly presented evidence supporting these claims. The decision to greenlight the inquiry came after House Republicans accused the White House of obstructing their investigation. By authorizing the inquiry, Republicans aim to strengthen their legal position if they need to go to court to enforce information requests. White House spokesperson Ian Sams dismissed the impeachment inquiry as a "sham investigation," emphasizing the administration's full cooperation and evidence contradicting the allegations. House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP investigators leading the inquiry emphasized that it is an investigation, not a predetermined move toward drafting articles of impeachment. Johnson stated during a press conference that their constitutional responsibility requires taking the next step and following the truth, without prejudging the outcome. Democrats, however, questioned the purpose of the investigation, pointing out the absence of evidence directly linking Biden to his family's business dealings. Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee involved in the investigation, questioned the alleged crime Biden was accused of, asserting that there was no substantiated basis for the claims. The vote to authorize the Republican inquiry coincided with the scheduled Capitol Hill deposition of President Biden's son, Hunter Biden. However, Hunter Biden defied the subpoena, opting for a press conference where he defended his father and accused GOP investigators of weaponizing his substance use disorder to attack the president. Hunter demanded to testify in a public hearing, while GOP investigators insisted on a closed-door deposition, leading to potential contempt proceedings. Continue >> Read the full article

[originalleftist]

Re House Republicans' vote for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

It's bullshit.

Republicans do not care about the rule of law. They twice acquitted Trump of far more serious offences than even those they are alleging against Biden. Nor have they presented convincing evidence of Biden's guilt. Their hearings to this point have been a national joke. And yet despite this, their words make clear that the outcome of this sham "inquiry" has already been decided- some time early in the new year, House Republicans will vote to impeach President Biden, forcing an ill-justified impeachment trial on the country. Their reasons for this are likely several:

Revenge. Pure, petty payback because Trump was impeached for actual criminality he committed in broad daylight, including trying to violently overthrow the Constitution and install himself as dictator.

To damage Biden in the election. They want to distract Biden, and create the APPEARANCE of weakness and corruption on his part.

To appease Trump and MAGA. Trump wants revenge (see reason one), and MAGA believe Biden is a Satanic pedophile Marxist who stole the election because Fox and Orange Hitler told them so. Any Republican who dares vote no risks losing office at best, or being targeted for violence at worst. And as we've seen time and again, when it comes to standing up to Trump and MAGA, the Republican Party has the collective backbone of an intestinal worm.

Whataboutism. Next year's news likely WOULD have been dominated, all through the election cycle, by Trumps' and his coconspirators' trials. Now, that news will be sharing space with a Biden impeachment trial. The goal is to give Republicans something to point at to shout "Both Sides", and convince voters that Trump and Biden are equally corrupt so they should just stay home or "protest vote" (this will, of course, also help them win, by dividing and suppressing the anti-fascist vote).

To cheapen the impeachment process itself. By using impeachment as a tool for frivolous partisan revenge and propaganda, Republicans hope to cheapen the primary Constitutional check on a criminal President. To convince an exhausted and cynical public that ALL impeachments are just empty partisan stunts (again, "both sides"ism).

This trial is pointless. Biden will not be convicted. Not on the merits of the evidence, and not if it were a purely partisan vote, as Republicans do not hold enough Senate seats. It is purely intended to hurt Biden, hurt Democrats, and help reelect Donald Trump.

Nonetheless, expect the chorus of Biden bashers to latch onto this as another argument for why he should step aside, even though Republicans would impeach any other Democrat in his place, and his primary opponents combined polled at 16%.

[thenewsart]

Johnson defends vote to formalize Biden impeachment inquiry amid White House ‘stonewalling’: ‘Not political’

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday defended a vote scheduled this week to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, arguing that unlike what Democrats did with the “sham impeachment” of former President Trump, Republicans are committed to the “rule of law.”  Fox News’ Chad Pergram pressed Johnson on an expectation from the GOP base to bring an impeachment vote sometime in the…

[faulentzer]

This is a real sham. Why wouldn’t it be when you have morons like Comer and Jordan at the wheel?