House Oversight and Accountability Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) suggested the impeachment vote against President Biden may not be the “best path” and said he instead thinks criminal referrals will be the way to go.
“I believe that the best path to accountability is criminal referrals,” Comer told Newsmax hosts Thursday.
The Oversight Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the impeachment inquiry into Biden. Democrats pressured Republicans to identify the criminal conduct underlying their probe, as doubts rise about the future of the investigation into the president’s business dealings.
Comer argued in the interview that “real accountability” for Biden now looks like “providing real criminal referrals to the Department of Justice,” because the Democratic-controlled Senate would likely table any impeachment into Biden “like they’re gonna do with the Merrick Garland impeachment.”
“I would vote to impeach Joe Biden right now. The impeachment inquiry was meant to give us more tools to be able to gather more information to be able to win in court,” he said.
During the hearing, Democrats were quick to ask Comer and other GOP members to name the crime or misdemeanor that is the root of their investigation.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) questioned why the impeachment was proceeding if the GOP has “no charges.” She said she has “yet to hear” from Comer that Republicans are specifically charging Biden with anything, since he often referred to wrongdoing by the “Biden family.”
“I am not hearing the specific allegation by this committee. What is it? It is not here. And that is the problem. The story is, when this committee knew they were working with falsified evidence? That is the story,” Ocasio-Cortez said during the hearing.
Even after the hearing, Comer insisted “the Bidens” have committed crimes by selling “access to” the president.
Comer posted online that “in the coming days” he will invite President Biden to testify before the committee and “explain why his family received tens of millions of dollars from foreign companies with his assistance.”