A Republican senator who said President Joe Biden might not be found to have committed an impeachable act while he has been president has been criticized by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma says regardless of what Biden did before he took office in 2021, it cannot count as an impeachable offense because legally, impeachment can only target actions during Biden’s time as president, according to The Hill.
Gaetz then posted to X that Mullin “is protecting Biden,” igniting a fierce reaction.
.@SenMullin is protecting Biden https://t.co/Sh6GlLawuR
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 16, 2023
Wow, did I have him pegged wrong. Thought he was a patriotic American. He’s just another loser & traitor to America.
— America First MAGA – Deplorable E Young (@YoungDeplorable) December 16, 2023
So tired of these Uniparty owned creeps
— BigBrother (@BigBro7000) December 16, 2023
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Mullin was interviewed Friday on the Newsmax show “Wake Up America.”
He said that if the House votes to impeach Biden and sends the case to the Senate for a trial he wants the case to be one where Biden can be convicted, noting “the bar is real high.”
He also noted that the convictable offense must have taken place while Biden was president.
“What he did as the vice president; what he did in between the two may not be impeachable,” he said, noting that he wants to move forward if the case is there.
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“If the president of the United States used his office to benefit him, to gain favor of other countries while they’re actually paying him, that’s a huge issue .. then we absolutely should convict him regardless of the politics behind it. It’s the law,” he said.
He said five moderate Democrats who he would not name might support convicting Biden.
“What’s interesting about the Senate versus the House is the senators have a lot bigger area, a lot bigger state to cover, so they cover blue parts of the state plus red parts,” he said.
“When you talk to some more moderate-leaning senators, they will tell you that if the House sends over an airtight case that completely points to the president — breaking the law, in treason, misdemeanors, high crimes — they would try it just like they would any other case,” he said, noting that a vote would depend on the quality of the case against Biden.
As noted by The Hill, removing Biden from office would require 67 votes. Senate Republican leaders including John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas have said there is a minimal chance the Senate would convict Biden on any charges the House sends over.
“One thing that we’ve asked for during this impeachment inquiry that that the House will send us a solid case,” Mullin said.
“Listen, an inquiry doesn’t mean that they’re going to impeach the president. All that means is they have access to the records the White House and the Biden family haven’t been giving us.”
Mullin noted that after initial claims absolving the entire Biden family of wrongdoing, the comments from the White House have changed.
“Now they’re starting to say that Joe Biden didn’t do anything wrong. They’re saying that that that Hunter Biden’s business deals aren’t attached to President Biden when we know there were over 50 shell companies, and there are numerous bank records that we’ve been able to get from Hunter Biden,” he said.
Mullin noted that because the Justice Department “is run by obviously, Joe Biden,” it has stiff-armed GOP requests for information without a formal impeachment inquiry on the books.
