Facing the prospect that they may not be able to impeach President Biden, House Republicans are exploring instead issuing criminal referrals against him and those close to him, reports the New York Times.. Despite their subpoenas and depositions, Republicans have been unable to produce solid evidence of wrongdoing by Biden and lack the votes in their party to charge him with high crimes and misdemeanors, the constitutional standard for impeachment. Instead, top lawmakers have begun strategizing about making criminal referrals against Biden, members of his family and his associates, sending letters to the Justice Department urging prosecutors to investigate crimes they believe may have been committed.
The move would be largely symbolic. It would allow Republicans to save face while ending their struggling impeachment inquiry. It would align with former President Trump’s vow to prosecute Biden if he win the election. It would avoid a repeat of the process House Republicans, who have a tiny majority, went through last month with the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary. After falling short of the votes to impeach Mayorkas, Republicans barely succeeded on the second try, only to realize that the Democratic-controlled Senate was poised to clear him. “There’s nothing that I’ve heard in the last couple of weeks that says that we are anywhere close to having the votes” for impeachment, said Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), author of the resolution authorizing the impeachment investigation. Armstrong suggested House Republicans could make referrals regarding alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act in connection with business deals by Hunter Biden, the president’s son, and suggested that the Justice Department investigate accusations of obstruction. Republicans are not finished with their investigation, and could change course and hold an impeachment vote. They have scheduled a public hearing next week with former business partners of Hunter Biden.