“This Is a Clown Show”: White House Insists GOP Withdraw Subpoenas in Biden Impeachment Inquiry

Michelle HollandNov 22, 2023

Minute Read

The White House has blasted House Republicans for an onslaught of subpoenas and interview requests directed at those close to President Joe Biden as the party continues its impeachment efforts.

An Illegitimate Inquiry

Richard Sauber, a White House lawyer, has asked key figures involved to withdraw their demands due to his belief that they are “unjustified” and “irresponsible.” Sauber sent a letter to James Comer, the Chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, as well as Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee Chairman.

Misrepresented Facts

Sauber wrote: “You appear so determined to impeach the President that you have misrepresented the facts, ignored the overwhelming evidence disproving your claims, and repeatedly shifted the rationale for your ‘inquiry.’

The Impeachment Efforts

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Republicans are attempting to impeach Biden on the assumption that he has participated in fraudulent and unlawful business dealings with his family, and mishandled classified documents before becoming president.

Lack of Evidence

Though there is evidence suggesting Biden’s son, Hunter, was able to secure overseas business deals through his family deals, the GOP has not found proof that Biden knew about this or that he personally tried to advance his family’s business ventures through his name and status in government.

Ulterior Motives

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Biden and the White House have denied the claims and believe that the investigative probes are merely an attempt to damage Biden’s reputation in the run up to the 2024 presidential election. Former president Donald Trump, who is likely to face off against Biden, has his own legal cases distracting from his planned reelection bid.

Congressional Harassment

Sauber continued, “No amount of truthful testimony or document productions will satisfy you and expose the improper nature of your Committees’ efforts. Congressional harassment of the president to score political points is precisely the type of conduct that the Constitution and its separation of powers was meant to prevent.”

No Authority

As of yet, the House has not voted to launch an impeachment inquiry against Biden, and so Sauber declared that the subpoena requests were illegitimate and unauthorized.

“Influence Peddling”

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Comer subpoenaed Hunter Biden and James Biden, the president’s brother, accusing them of “influence peddling” and claiming that they had proof. Former White House Counsel Dana Remus was also subpoenaed regarding Biden’s handling of classified documents in a related probe.

Comer’s Concerns

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Comer asserted, “It is imperative to learn whether President Biden retained sensitive documents related to any countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings that brought in millions for the Biden family.”

White House Officials

Four White House officials were also sent interview requests by House legislators: Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, Ashley Williams, and Katharine Reilly.

A House Vote

People online criticized the GOP for its improper conduct and panned its efforts as grasping at straws. One commenter flagged the illegitimacy of the subpoenas: “Just ignore the subpoenas; make them vote for an impeachment inquiry.”

Pointless Political Theater

Another forum user wrote: “The GOP spinning their wheels in a pointless bit of political theater that won’t ever amount to anything?” before adding, “It must be one of those rare days that end in ‘ay’. They also criticized the party for “pandering to the base who’d never vote any different.”

A Smear Campaign

One person said that the White House’s response to the situation was “accurate.” They continued to explain that “they have no evidence. This is a clown show to smear Biden.” Someone else concurred, “Their search for evidence is as likely to be as serious as their reliance on facts. Nonexistent.”

Wasting the White House’s Time

People were overall sympathetic to Biden for having to waste time dealing with the probes. One contributor declared: “The White House is trying to do an actual job and can’t send their staff to sit for literally endless depositions.”

Incompetent Republicans

The person continued, “The GOP can’t understand what White House staffers are doing all day, because they’ve never tried to run a working government.” Several other commenters pointed out the House Republicans’ ongoing inability to do their jobs properly.

A Clean Record

Multiple forum members discussed how the GOP’s lack of evidence reflected well on Biden. One poster stated: “The fact that Biden has had such a long and storied career in politics and they haven’t found a damn thing despite how much they’ve looked is honestly really impressive. This man has just lived above board in one of the more corrupt institutions in the world.”

Biden’s Crime

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One individual suggested that the GOP is attempting to impeach Biden “for the crime of being the president but not a Republican.” Others asserted that the impeachment inquiry is unlikely to ever lead to anything, but would be successful in drumming up hysteria among Republican voters.

Avoiding Embarrassment

One commenter proposed, “They won’t ever finish the ‘inquiry’; it’s too good a fruit to dangle in front of their voters. Trying to impeach Biden and then being forced to come out and say they have no evidence would be more damning to them,” before concluding that “Once they come out saying there is no evidence, the fruit is dead and rotten.”