The fate of the effort to hold Joe Biden accountable will be decided Wednesday night, but what will the GOP do? With such a slim majority in the House, there's no room for defections, and I'm starting to wonder if they indeed have the votes to formalize the impeachment inquiry — a likely indication that they will also have the votes to impeach Biden.
According to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Republicans have the votes to formalize the inquiry, but Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has been quietly campaigning against the inquiry, targeting moderate Republicans with bogus talking points, and it is conceivable that cracks in the GOP coalition have formed. In fact, we got a likely indication on Wednesday morning that this is indeed the case.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) released a joint statement after Hunter's press conference.
“Hunter Biden today defied lawful subpoenas and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings. We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden," their statement read. "As our committees were today prepared to depose Hunter Biden, he chose to make a public statement on Capitol Hill instead, where he said his father, Joe Biden was not financially involved in his family’s business dealings. Exactly how was Joe Biden involved? Evidence shows Joe Biden met with Hunter’s business associates and his name was at the center of the family business strategy."
The statement continued, "Today, the House will vote on an impeachment inquiry resolution to strengthen our legal case in the courts as we face obstruction from the White House and witnesses. Today’s obstruction by Hunter Biden reinforces the need for a formal vote. President Biden and his family must be held accountable for their corruption and obstruction. And we will provide that to the American people.”
Why wait? Hunter Biden defied a congressional subpoena; this should have been an easy vote, which all Republicans could have gotten behind, and taken place immediately. Now it looks like contempt proceedings won't take place until after the impeachment inquiry vote. Why would they wait? Do they have the votes to hold Hunter Biden in contempt?
That's an interesting question, indeed. Make no mistake about it: the investigations of Hunter Biden and the impeachment inquiry are intertwined. And if Republicans didn’t have the votes to hold Hunter in contempt, then I dare say it’s iffy that Republicans will have the votes to formalize the impeachment inquiry.
Related: Here's the Case for Joe Biden's Impeachment
That would be a devastating outcome, considering how rock-solid the case against Biden is at this point. Sadly, it wouldn’t be too shocking given the lack of unity in the Republican caucus. I sincerely hope that my concerns are misplaced and that Comer and Jordan simply decided that they needed to focus on whipping the vote for the impeachment inquiry to provide them with enhanced investigative powers first. But I’ve gotten to know the House GOP well enough in recent years to know that I should always expect disappointment.
