Some Senate Republicans are rejecting the idea that President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents amounts to an impeachable offense, dashing the hopes of their GOP counterparts in the House who are seeking to charge Biden with misconduct.
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House Republicans introduced more than a dozen articles of impeachment in the last Congress, with that number only expected to grow now that the GOP holds a majority in the lower chamber. Even if the House did manage to impeach Biden, it’s unlikely the president would be convicted in the Democratic-led Senate — especially as several Republican senators have been wary of the prospect.
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS FOUND IN MIKE PENCE’S INDIANA HOME
“I don’t think you want to get into where it’s a tit for tat, every two years or four years you’re dealing with impeachment proceedings in the House and Senate,” Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) told the Hill. “There has to be a really good reason, obviously, the constitutional reasons and grounds for that. So we’ll see where it goes.”
The renewed debate comes as the House Judiciary Committee conducts an investigation into the classified documents that were found in Biden’s think tank office and private Delaware residence late last year, which could set the stage for future impeachment proceedings.
Some Senate Republicans are open to the idea of impeachment, pointing to the first impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump as a “far-fetched and silly” precedent.
“This actually might be an impeachable offense. If there’s a high crime and misdemeanor standard, which there is, this is the closest thing to one in recent years,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told the outlet. “If the special counsel comes up with anything, realizing [Biden’s] a sitting president, I suppose they could draft up what would become articles of impeachment, depending on what they find.”
Trump was first impeached in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after he was accused of withholding military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into then-Democratic nominee Biden. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.
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However, some GOP senators have voiced opposition to impeachment proceedings for Biden over the discovery of classified documents, pointing to sensitive materials that were also found in the homes of Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.
“I can’t imagine [impeachment is] where it’s going to head with so many people in the same arena,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who was the only Republican to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial.
