Smiling And Walking

This.

This point is missed in reporting on McCarthy's promise that they're going to get extra powers from impeachment. https://t.co/lanPNYUkxT

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) July 25, 2023

Well, not quite. But first, context:

During the first impeachment, the 3 committees conducting the investigation issued subpoenas to cabinet agencies and the White House seeking information on Trump’s attempt to shake down the new president of Ukraine, @ZelenskyyUa.

Here was the first: 2/ https://t.co/ieLtGJxKfA

— Tim Mulvey (@trmulvey) July 25, 2023

The administration’s argument for stonewalling?

The House didn’t vote as a body on whether to move forward with an impeachment inquiry, therefore the subpoenas were invalid.

4/

— Tim Mulvey (@trmulvey) July 25, 2023

So will McCarthy in 2023 push ahead with an inquiry that McCarthy in 2019 deemed invalid, lacking a vote of the whole House?

Or will he put a resolution on the floor opening an impeachment inquiry based on the, ahem, “evidence” that his committees have gathered so far?

6/

— Tim Mulvey (@trmulvey) July 25, 2023

I am wondering how the House enforces document demands in the face of stonewalling from the Administration. I don’t think the Supremes would step into that short of another Nixon tapes situation (and we are so far from a Nixon tapes situation it’s not even funny).* The 2019 precedent is a valid point. But McCarthy doesn’t have any bullets in his gun to start with.

Which means it comes down to door number 2:

And if it’s the latter, I find myself coming back to this: 7/7 https://t.co/UwyHj2Gb2s

— Tim Mulvey (@trmulvey) July 25, 2023

This whole effort is pure vengeance porn for MAGA. They don’t want to remove Biden, they want to expunge Trump’s shame by impeaching Biden. Payback is all that matters.

But can they get that far? If I understand House rules on impeachment, they need a majority to pass the articles and start the Senate trial. The GOP has a slim majority. They’ll need every GOP vote. Can they get it?

And will MAGA forgive Kevin if their impeachment dreams go up in smoke?

Now let me pepper this with relevant evidence:

These are quite literally orders directly from Donald Trump.

The House GOP doesn't give a damn about you.

Their only mission is to protect Donald Trump. https://t.co/bIjnBga92k

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) July 25, 2023

Reporter: What do you say to the moderates in your party who say you continue appease the right wing on many issues.

McCarthy: Such as what? pic.twitter.com/dFKRF1L4bS

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 25, 2023

Listen carefully to the important problems President Biden is trying to solve and compare this to the toxicity being spewed by House Republicans. https://t.co/TX9j7GSR8p

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) July 25, 2023

Perfect. In response to questions about Republicans trying to impeach him, President Biden just smiled and kept walking.

All of us, including President Biden, know that the Republicans are a joke and that this apparent impeachment is a total sham.

— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) July 25, 2023

Biden smiles as reporters ask him about McCarthy’s push for an impeachment inquiry pic.twitter.com/xznSewL6NG

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 25, 2023

Dark Brandon, ascendant.

*And no, impeachment doesn’t give the House magic investigatory powers. Nixon was never impeached. And there was a great deal more evidence before the Committee got to the tapes, than McCarthy has against Biden yet.