The stunning illogic of the GOP's Biden impeachment move

In several mind-boggling parts

As you know, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives this week opened an impeachment inquiry into President Biden on the extremely dubious grounds that he may have been guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors related to his son Hunter. The vote among GOP representatives was unanimous.

President Biden loves his troubled son, Hunter, but despite the wishes of Fox News, this is not an impeachable offense / Getty Images

Three observations, all of which should be enough to make reasonable American citizens tear out their hair:

1. Fox News made this happen. In a sane world, the media covers the news. But in this case, that was reversed. MAGA-World Republicans acted at the behest of their all-too-influential propaganda network. The constant anti-Biden drumbeat on the GOP’s favorite outlet made this move utterly predictable. As Media Matters’ Matt Gertz (not to be confused with wild-eyed GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz) put it: “Fox’s stars have long demanded a Biden impeachment as both retaliation and political cover for Donald Trump’s various impeachments and criminal indictments. Their power within the GOP made a Biden impeachment inquiry inevitable.” A classic case of the tail wagging the dog.

2. At least some prominent Republican lawmakers admit they have nothing after years of investigation, but are moving forward anyway. They’re not even really interested in getting to the bottom of anything, as they keep proving. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who has led the Senate Republican investigation into Hunter Biden since 2019, admitted as much on CNN this week: “I have no evidence… the facts haven’t taken me to that point where I can say the president is guilty of anything.” Well, by all means, carry on nonetheless!

3. Some of the reality-based press is covering this like a big legitimate story, though it really is a vile piece of partisan politics. I make a habit of watching the ABC News evening newscast, since it’s the most popular of the three network broadcasts that attract more than 20 million viewers every night. The Biden impeachment move led the newscast on Wednesday, which gave the story tremendous attention, despite several caveats such as “though there’s no proof.” Immediately followed by footage of Hunter Biden, giving his impassioned public statement, the coverage — no worse than most outlets’ — gave the impression that there was SOME kind of wrongdoing here because, well … impeachment and Hunter Biden and backdrop of the U.S. Capitol. (Of course, mainstream media also thinks it’s a great idea to give a prime-time platform to the ranting lies of Vivek Ramaswamy, as CNN did in a town hall on Wednesday.) The New York Times headline, by contrast, was pretty good: “House Approves Biden Impeachment Inquiry as G.O.P. Hunts for an Offense.”

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I would like to think that Americans can see through all of this — and that, at heart, they care about living in a democracy. But sometimes my confidence is shaken, as when I read in the Washington Post the comments of Trump backers, reacting to the would-be president’s recent alarming admission that he might position himself as a dictator on the first day of a second term. “I love it,” said a woman in her 50s from northwest Iowa who spoke on the condition that she be identified only as Sue. “My kids call me a dictator, I thought my parents were dictators … He said he was only going to do it for a day. Like if you had a home that was in disrepair and your parents came in and they were firm and they wanted to get it done, and when you got done you had this beautiful home, how could you be mad?”

Thanks very much to all subscribers here. Let me know in the comments if you are confident that most Americans understand the Biden impeachment inquiry is a sham, or if they are taking it seriously.

I’ll share two other items. The first is my appearance on NPR’s Weekend Edition from a few days ago, discussing how to cover the 2024 presidential election, with host Ayesha Rascoe and guest Brian Klaas of The Atlantic. The other is my latest Guardian column on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s power move and what it may mean. Thank you again for caring about these issues. I appreciate you!