The precedent Republicans are setting threatens to turn the concept of an impeachment inquiry into a oft-used partisan tool.
Maybe “high crimes and misdemeanors” should include impeaching a president without evidence.
On Wednesday, every Republican in the U.S. House voted — based on no facts — to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
The vote follows months of digging into Biden’s record and coming up empty. First, three House committees investigated Biden and his son Hunter. In September, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy directed the House to open an impeachment inquiry, but there was no official vote. On Wednesday, an official vote passed on party lines.
But with all that investigating, Republicans lack evidence to justify an impeachment. Instead of a smoking gun, they have a pea shooter — with no peas. Several Republican lawmakers have admitted as much, saying the impeachment process is needed to generate evidence to justify an impeachment process.
