Kevin McCarthy’s impeachment farce of Joe Biden shows the speaker’s own weakness

Although billed as “the basis for an impeachment inquiry of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.,” the six hour hearing by the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability yesterday was more about removing Kevin McCarthy from his constitutional office than removing Joe Biden from his constitutional office.

Chairman James Comer offered little oversight and even less accountability, even as he stressed that this was not an impeachment hearing, but impeachment inquiry hearing. Good to know, James.

There was no evidence presented that Biden has abused the presidency and even one of the Republicans’ own witnesses said that there’s not enough here for an impeachment. We didn’t see anything warranting an “impeachment inquiry” either.

Instead the exercise was held because Speaker McCarthy made a deal with his right-wing crazies like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene to win the gavel on the 15th vote in January. They forced McCarthy to accept a rule change that a single member can make a motion to vacate the chair, meaning depose the speaker. They also wanted Biden impeached. So if there was no impeachment, it could be bye-bye Speaker McCarthy.

So seeing McCarthy toppled as speaker is about a million times more likely than seeing Biden toppled as president, even as the speaker can tell his rabid caucus that the impeachment is underway, sparing his skin — for now.

At the end of the day’s proceedings, the ranking Democrat, Jamie Raskin, said this was the “Seinfeld” impeachment, because it is an impeachment about nothing. There were four witnesses, but there were no fact witnesses. And no facts. And no evidence.

The GOP says that the troubled First Son Hunter Biden and First Brother James Biden made $20 million from mysterious sources in suspect places like Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Romania and China. Or was it $24 million? And they want to know how the Biden family came into this wealth.

Comer now says he is going to seek the bank records of Hunter and James Biden and their business associates. That is his right.

Mind you, even if this is all true there’s nothing even hinting that Joe and Jill scored some gold bullion or cash in the various deals and that it happened since Joe took office at noon on Jan. 20, 2021. There are plenty of sins by 80-year Joe. Why not go back to Biden lifting Neil Kinnock’s biography in 1987?

But impeachment has to be about bad conduct, “high crimes and misdemeanors,” while in office.

While in office Bill Clinton lied under oath, committing perjury (albeit about his sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky) and was impeached on that evidence.

While in office Donald Trump tried to blackmail the new president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, into smearing Biden on a “perfect phone call” and was impeached on that evidence.

While in office Trump fomented an insurrection on Jan. 6 for a mob to sack the Capitol and steal the election from Biden and was impeached on that evidence.

Hunter Biden, the second son who could never live up to his now-dead older brother, has been caught in booze and drugs for years and is now facing federal criminal charges. If he was president, there might be grounds for his impeachment. But despite the GOP’s wishes, Hunter ain’t the president.