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It looks like House Republicans’ baseless attempt to impeach President Joe Biden is quietly being put out to pasture.
The GOP has talked a big game about impeachment ever since it took control of the House in January 2023, when the ascendant leadership vowed to end a Biden family crime syndicate that only exists in the conservative imagination. But a series of missteps and public embarrassments, led largely by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, have left them with little to show for their efforts but the egg on their face. The most glaring embarrassment — the revelation that Republicans relied on a witness with links to Russian intelligence — appears to have done the inquiry in for good.
One clear sign? The House speaker apparently doesn’t have time for it.
The Hill reports that Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he wouldn’t commit to holding a vote on the articles of impeachment Republicans have drafted. Johnson added, “To be very frank with you, very honest and transparent, because I’ve been so busy with all my other responsibilities, I have not been able to take the time to do the deep dive in the evidence.”
For what it’s worth, Johnson did speak generally of what he called an “alarming set of facts,” and he defended the pace of the impeachment process — oft-criticized by other Republicans — as “slow and deliberate and methodical.”
But the key takeaway here is that the top Republican in the House of Representatives is saying he simply hasn’t had time to look into the conspiratorial crusade that his party has been chirping about for years now. And that’s odd! Republicans are framing Biden’s alleged misdeeds as “treasonous” crimes that have put U.S. national security at risk. And it strains credulity that, as head of the do-nothing GOP majority in the House, Johnson has been too preoccupied to deal with something that important.
But even if you take Johnson at his word, there are other indications that the impeachment push is petering out.
After Comer’s suggestion last week that the inquiry could result in criminal referrals to the Justice Department, multiple sources have told ABC News the Comer raised the possibility of referrals because “the prospects of impeaching president Biden have dulled.” One unnamed congressional Republican described the move as an “exit strategy” for Comer and his crew.
As ABC News notes, it’s possible nothing comes of the referrals, either:
Any such referrals would fall short of the committee’s initial goals of impeaching President Biden, as the Justice Department is not obligated to act on such referrals or even acknowledge them.
Oh, how far we’ve come. Comer and the House GOP started their impeachment crusade with such high hopes. Now, it’s looking like it may amount to little more than a strongly worded letter.