(NewsInsights.org) – A recent report indicated that a closed-door House GOP conference session scheduled for Friday, December 1, might include discussions about whether to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden by calling for a floor vote. As the White House stonewalls information requests from the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Way and Means Committees, caucus leaders suggest a formal vote might become necessary to give legal credence to Congressional subpoenas in potential court battles.
Before his ouster, previous House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) unilaterally authorized the chairs of the three committees, Representatives James Comer (R-KY), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Jason Smith (R-MO), to begin an impeachment inquiry without a House vote on the matter, violating protocol and calling the inquiry’s legitimacy into question. On November 17, White House special counsel Dick Sauber sent a four-page letter to Comer and Jordan questioning the validity of their impeachment inquiry, citing their arguments from the previous administration back to them about the necessity of holding a House vote to authorize such an inquiry as required by the Constitution.
Many Republicans feel there’s enough support among moderate caucus members to carry a formal motion to begin an impeachment inquiry. The passage would only authorize an investigation; it would not signify the start of impeachment proceedings against the president.
Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) told Fox News he supported opening a formal inquiry because “the administration has started stonewalling in the last couple of weeks.” Biden narrowly won in Bacon’s district in 2020. As the country moves toward the 2024 election, Bacon believes “voters need to know” the facts, and a formal inquiry would uncover any hidden information.
Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) expressed a similar concern, saying, “There’s plenty of smoke coming out of the White House,” justifying a formal inquiry. Yet, an anonymous source within the GOP cautioned Fox News that a formal House vote currently remained under discussion.
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