A month ago, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) opened formal hearings as part of an impeachment inquiry into alleged illegal bribes paid to President Joe Biden, making some grandiose claims and insisting that he had found evidence that would make Biden’s impeachment a fait accompli.
At the first hearing, Comer made some bold statements, the Washington Post reported at the time.
In his opening statement, Comer alleged that Biden has for years “lied to the American people about his knowledge of and participation in his family’s corrupt business schemes.” Comer accused Biden of having developed relationships with his family’s foreign business targets.
“These business targets include foreign oligarchs who sent millions of dollars to his family,” he said. “It also includes a Chinese national who wired a quarter of a million dollars to his son.”
However, it soon became clear that Comer had no actual evidence, just unsupported allegations, rumors, and hearsay.
But in the course of just a month, Comer’s tune has changed dramatically, and he’s now suggesting he probably won’t hold more hearings on impeachment, Philip Bump of the Post notes.
“I don’t know that I want to hold any more hearings, to be honest with you,” Comer said while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill last week. He complained that it was hard to keep members present for hours on end, given that so many had other commitments. Instead, he said, he preferred depositions, which “you can do more with.”
Wow! How’s that for an about-face?
Comer’s remarks are especially odd considering that Thursday evening new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Fox host Sean Hannity that he’s impressed with the oversight committee’s work.
“I know people are getting anxious and they’re getting restless and they just want somebody to be impeached. But that’s not — we don’t do that like the other team. We have to base it upon the evidence, and the evidence is coming together. We’ll see where it leads.”
What in the world is going on here?
Well, there’s the simple fact that holding hearings means Comer and his fellow Republicans have to do more than just sit and go on long harangues about how they’re certain the president broke the law even though they don’t have a shred of evidence.
And then there’s Comer’s mention of depositions, which “you can do more with.”
What Comer is hinting at is putting people under oath and even if they don’t provide any damning facts, he and others in the GOP can still hint that they’re making progress, knowing they don’t have to provide the goods because the depositions are part of an ongoing investigation and will remain secret.
Just a hint of wrongdoing is all Comer and his GOP buddies need to try and draw a false equivalency between Biden and Donald Trump, who has 91 criminal charges hanging over his head.
There’s no need to actually impeach Biden. All Comer needs is enough bullshit to tar the president and keep his bogus “investigation” going.
It’d be tempting to call the whole ordeal smoke and mirrors. But it’s nowhere near that sophisticated. It’s just a smokescreen using fumes from the already deceased horse the GOP can’t resist beating over and over again.
