Before they go any further in their vendetta against President Joe Biden, Republicans in the House of Representatives should answer two questions. Are they violating ethics rules by using government resources to campaign for former President Donald Trump? And are their oversight committees crossing the line into illegal defamation of Biden or his family?
Regarding the first question, House ethics rules say the body’s official resources “may not be used for campaign or political purposes.” This applies not only to each member’s own election campaigns but also to helping the campaigns of others. According to the House Ethics Manual: “the prohibition applies to, for example, campaigns for the presidency, the U.S. Senate, or a state or local office, and it applies to such campaigns whether the Member is a candidate or is merely seeking to support or assist (or oppose) a candidate in such a campaign.”
Trump routinely leverages the loyalty of his base to keep Republicans in line. The news media have detected the 2024 presidential hopeful’s fingerprints on the pending impeachment inquiry into Biden and the investigations of the president and his family by two committees: the House Oversight Committee and the Special Committee on the Weaponization of Government.
The New York Times reports that Trump posted a message on social media encouraging House Republicans to “Either impeach the bum, or fade into oblivion. They did it to us.” This followed a conversation between the ex-president and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who reportedly said she hoped for an impeachment inquiry that is “long and excruciatingly painful for Joe Biden.”
During a rally at the end of July, Trump warned, “Any Republican that doesn’t act on Democratic fraud should be immediately primaried and get out. We got a lot of good, tough Republicans around. People are going to run against them and people are going to win.”
“They impeach me, they indict me,” he complained. “And the Republicans just don’t fight the way … they’re supposed to fight.”
ABC News says its sources reveal Trump “privately discussed Biden and impeachment with House Republicans before and after McCarthy announced he was launching an investigation, which ramps up congressional scrutiny of the president at the same time that Trump faces four criminal cases of his own.” Earlier this month, CNN reported that Trump “has also discussed the prospect of having Congress expunge his own two impeachments.”
McCarthy authorized the inquiry not because of compelling evidence but because of relentless pressure from right-wing Republicans, any one of whom could call for a majority vote to remove McCarthy from the Speakership. There is little question that the so-called Freedom Caucus is marching to Trump’s drumbeat.
“Over the past several months, Mr. Trump has kept a close watch on House Republicans’ momentum toward impeaching Mr. Biden,” according to The New York Times. “Mr. Trump has talked regularly by phone with members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and other congressional Republicans who pushed for impeachment. […] Mr. Trump has encouraged the effort both privately and publicly.”
House Ethics Rules are not toothless. The manual says the misuse of House resources to support someone else’s campaign for the presidency “is a very serious matter. […] Depending on the circumstances, such conduct may result in not only disciplinary action by the House, but also criminal prosecution.”
The second question relates to allegations made public by Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairpersons of the Oversight and Weaponization committees, respectively. Members of Congress have absolute privilege to make defamatory statements when performing legislative functions, but that privilege “doesn’t mean legislators can say anything they want at any time.” For example, they may defame others during floor speeches, but they can be liable for defamation “if they say the same thing in a television interview.”
NBC News reports: “Comer has become a fixture on Fox News and other conservative media outlets, where he serves up red meat for the right, repeatedly invoking the ‘Biden Crime Family,’ casually accusing the president — without evidence — of engaging in an ‘influence peddling scheme’ and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and mocking Hunter Biden’s past drug addiction and money problems. In his media appearances, Comer often dabbles in unfounded claims, exaggerations, and innuendo that sometimes border on conspiracy theories.”
Comer’s committee has been investigating allegations against President Biden for nine months and reportedly has found no compelling evidence of wrongdoing. The Congressional Integrity Project, a watchdog group, concluded this month, “After months of political stunts, dozens of hearings, transcribed interviews, and memos, and despite hours on Fox peddling conspiracy theories, Comer and his Maga crew have failed to find a single shred of evidence linking President Biden to any of their lurid accusations. In fact, Republicans have been forced to walk back claim after claim.”
Comer’s comments often appear to cross the line between describing what his committee is investigating and framing suspicions as facts. Politicians know that even allegations can permanently stain a target’s reputation in the public mind. And as an opinion piece at the Brookings Institution explains, “With the circulation of claims of election fraud and misinformation throughout the country, the public’s trust in our democratic system subsequently declined as well.”
We are entering one of the most litigious election seasons in memory, fought mainly in courtrooms and testimony rather than debates. The House is diverting significant resources away from its legitimate responsibilities. We can’t allow it to use those resources to work for anyone’s presidential election campaign.
William S. Becker is co-editor of and a contributor to “Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People,” and soon-to-be-published Democracy in a Hotter Time. He has served in several state and federal government roles, including executive assistant to the attorney general of Wisconsin. He is currently executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP), a nonpartisan climate policy think tank unaffiliated with the White House.