Biden impeachment inquiry live updates: Evidence doesn’t meet threshold, GOP witness says

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, the committee’s ranking member, didn’t mince words as he tore into Republicans for moving ahead with an impeachment inquiry when Congress is barreling toward a government shutdown.

“We’re 62 hours away from shutting down the government of the United States of America and Republicans are launching an impeachment drive based on a long debunked and discredited lie,” Raskin said.

“No foreign enemy’s ever been able to shut down the government United States but now MAGA Republicans are about to do just that. But they don’t want to cut off public services to the people and deny paychecks to more than a million service members without first launching the impeachment drive, even when they don’t have a shred of evidence against President Biden for an impeachable offense.”

Raskin went on to point to poster boards filled with recent quotes from Republicans on the spending showdown, including comments like “clown show” and “new low.”

Raskin also criticized Republicans for launching an impeachment inquiry without a full House vote, and said they sit “empty handed.”

As staffers displayed a poster with former President Donald Trump’s posts on his social media platform calling for a government shutdown and Biden’s impeachment behind him, Raskin slammed Republicans actions.

“We’ve moved from a Trump-ordered Republican shutdown to a Trump-ordered impeachment hearing. Back in the reality-based world, the majority sits completely empty handed with no evidence of any presidential wrongdoing, no smoking gun, no gun, no smoke,” Raskin said. “If the Republicans had a smoking gun or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today. But they’ve got nothing,” he said.