McCarthy trying to impeach Biden to ‘appease’ right-wing base: Democrat rep
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., says House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is using the Biden impeachment inquiry to get votes in order to avoid a government shutdown, that there is no "factual basis" for the impeachment.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., defended the impeachment inquiry into President Biden during an interview Sunday, arguing that the "facts are everywhere."
During an appearance on ABC's "This Week," host Jonathan Karl asked Mace if she believed it was premature for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to launch an impeachment inquiry without a vote. Karl cited an op-ed published in the Washington Post by Mace's Republican colleague, Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo, who wrote, "Trump's impeachment in 2019 was a disgrace to the Constitution and is a disservice to Americans. The GOP’s reprise in 2023 is no better."
"I don't believe so," said Mace, a member of the House Oversight Committee. "The facts are everywhere. There are text messages, there are emails, there are witnesses, there are whistleblowers, there are meetings, there are phone calls, there are dinners. And you can’t say, ‘Hey, there’s a little bit of smoke, we’re not going to follow the fire.’ And the inquiry, my understanding is, as you said earlier, gives us expanded subpoena powers. I want the bank records of Joe Biden. All of that should be on the table to prove out the allegations in the SARS reports. We're talking about a significant sum of money. We are talking about bribery. And in the Constitution, Article 2, Section 4, that is the basis for impeachment."
Karl interjected, saying there is no evidence connected to Biden, but Mace rejected the notion.
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"There is evidence. You can’t say that there’s no evidence there when there is evidence," Mace said.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol to discuss an impeachment inquiry of President Biden on Sept. 14, 2023. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)
"It was the fourth estate. It was the media and journalists when Nixon was going down that helped do that investigation, helped bring down the president when they – when he broke the law," she said. "And, you know, you guys want to deny that there's evidence. It's everywhere."
In announcing the impeachment inquiry, McCarthy listed allegations of "abuse of power, obstruction and corruption," which have made against Biden by several Republican-led committees that have been investigating the president, and said the investigations found that Biden "did lie to the American people about his own knowledge of his family's foreign business dealings."
"Eyewitnesses have testified that the president joined on multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions, dinners resulted in cars and millions of dollars into his [son] and his son's business partners," McCarthy told reporters.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is shown at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 14, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)
Earlier in the interview, Mace also refused to say whether or not she'd support a motion to remove McCarthy as speaker.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., threatened to bring a motion to oust McCarthy if he does not follow through on a series of demands from the House Freedom Caucus on spending and legislation. McCarthy told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on "Sunday Morning Futures" that a motion to vacate his speakership would only give Biden what he wants and shut down the House, and effectively, the impeachment inquiry into the president.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., defended the impeachment inquiry into President Biden during an interview Sunday, arguing that the "facts are everywhere." (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images / File)
"It hasn't happened yet, and I'm not going to … comment on conjecture here. Either he’s going to file it or he’s not. If he’s going to do it, put his money where his mouth is. I do hear that some votes might be up for grabs because people were made promises that have not been kept," Mace said Sunday of the possible motion.
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"Quite frankly, a lot of promises were made. It’s not just to the Freedom Caucus but to other members of the House. And those promises ought to be fulfilled," she said. "Everything's on the table at this point for me because I want to do the right thing for the American people, I want to do the right thing for women. I'm trying to show: Here’s a path forward for women post-Roe for birth control, for women who are rape survivors, etc. My district is no stranger to gun violence, to mass shootings."
"We ought to be able to work hard for the American people and show them that. And here we are facing a government shutdown and … really, what have we accomplished this year?"
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