Asked during a discussion on MSNBC about comparisons made between the recent GOP announcement of an impeachment inquiry targeting President Joe Biden and what Democrats did in pursuing the impeachment of Donald Trump (the first time), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was dismissive. The specific argument was that Republicans not holding a vote on whether to formally open an impeachment investigation reflected a precedent established in Democrats’ handling of proceedings against Trump. Pelosi said such was nonsense.
“I say that that’s hogwash,” Pelosi said. “I mean, it’s ridiculous. And I don’t know why the press keeps repeating it. The fact is, we said we were going to — I assigned my committee chairs, six of them, to develop the facts. Because you have to act upon the facts. That’s a strange thing to say maybe around here, but you have to act upon the facts. We had a couple of weeks of doing that, a few weeks of doing that, and in three or four weeks, we then prepared to bring the bill to the floor.” She was referring to the formal establishment of the first impeachment inquiry that targeted Donald Trump.
The present case Republicans are hoping to build against the current president rests on supposed connections between the older Biden and business dealings involving his son, Hunter. No real-world evidence has emerged actually showing a specific, financial tie between the president and what’s known to have transpired, which would be a key indicator of a meaningfully substantial connection.
It’s been argued from Republican circles that formally opening an impeachment inquiry will help facilitate greater access to the condemning evidence they’re clearly suspecting is present, though Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) has retorted that Republicans announcing an inquiry without actually holding a formal vote does nothing to meaningfully increase the scope of the investigative powers already held by the party in Congress!
