White House pushes back on Republican obstruction claims in impeachment inquiry

The White House pushed back on claims of obstruction from House Republicans during their impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Friday, arguing they are using such claims to rationalize their illegitimate probe.

Ian Sams, White House oversight spokesperson, released a memo Friday in an effort to debunk House Republicans’ allegations of obstruction. House Oversight and Accountability Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said this week that “Biden’s pattern of lies, corruption, and obstruction demand action from Congress” and noted that the committee will interview members of the president’s family over the next two months. 

“Faced with this level of ‘failure theater,’ these same extreme House Republicans now appear to be trying to invent claims of ‘obstruction’ and ‘stonewalling’ to rationalize their illegitimate so- called ‘impeachment inquiry.’ Some House Republicans are even leaning on these false claims as a predicate to vote to formally authorize such an inquiry,” Sams said.

“The problem: Claims of ‘obstruction’ and ‘stonewalling’ are easily refuted by the facts,” Sams added.

The spokesperson argued that the White House has sent letters to Comer and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), offering to meet or talk further, “yet Comer and Jordan have repeatedly refused to engage.” And, he noted that the president’s son, Hunter Biden, has offered to provide testimony; earlier this week, the younger Biden offered to testify publicly.

“Clearly, there has been no ‘stonewalling.’ Despite receiving this significant volume of material, House Republicans have just failed to turn up any evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden — but plenty of evidence debunking their claims,” Sams said. “This impeachment stunt is illegitimate, based on nothing, and shows that extreme House Republicans are willing to stop at nothing to smear the President despite failing to have the facts on their side.”

Sams, in the memo, outlined what he called House Republicans’ “yearlong fishing expedition,” ahead of a GOP gathering for a policy conference to be updated on the impeachment inquiry. 

He outlined that throughout the investigation into Biden, House Republicans had access to more than 35,000 pages of private financial record, more than 2,000 pages of Treasury Department financial reports and at least 36 hours of witness testimony, including from Attorney General Merrick Garland.

They also have received records from Biden’s time as vice president from the National Archives, and documents and witness testimony from the FBI, Justice Department and Treasury Department. 

House Republicans this week are weighing whether to shore up their impeachment inquiry by taking a formal vote on the matter. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) kicked off the impeachment process without a House vote, a move the White House has blasted and argued it gives the inquiry no constitutional legitimacy.