The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has vehemently called for the cessation of the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, spearheaded by Republicans. This demand follows the Justice Department’s special counsel indictment of a key witness for allegedly providing false statements to the FBI.
The indictment centers on Alexander Smirnov, an informant who has been working with the FBI since 2010. In 2020, Smirnov purportedly made unfounded allegations to the agency concerning a supposed $5 million payment each to President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, by the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. This assertion has been instrumental in forming the basis of corruption accusations against the President by House Republicans.
Reacting to the indictment, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), emphasized its significance in undermining the credibility of evidence that Republicans have leveraged for the impeachment inquiry. According to Raskin, the charges brought forth by Special Counsel David Weiss, who was appointed during the tenure of former President Donald Trump, illuminate the fabrication underpinning the House Republicans’ efforts.
Raskin further articulated in a statement that the indictment from Weiss serves to invalidate the conspiracy theory tying Ukraine-Burisma to the impeachment inquiry, which he described as fraudulent. He underscored that Weiss’s probe is merely the latest in a series of investigations to disprove the allegations against Biden, painting them as baseless.
The congressman did not mince words in condemning the Republican-led inquiry, describing the allegations against President Biden as nothing more than a “tissue of lies” founded on conspiracy theories. He issued a direct appeal to Speaker Johnson, Chairman Comer, and their Republican colleagues, urging them to abandon what he views as a baseless and futile impeachment endeavor.
Raskin’s call to halt the inquiry underscores a broader plea for a return to fact-based legislating and the cessation of endeavors he deems as not only groundless but detrimental to the integrity of the political landscape.
