Lawmakers in Congress are likely to seek criminal referrals against President Joe Biden, his family members, and other associates as the effort to bring impeachment articles forward has purportedly floundered.
Republican leaders in the House have acknowledged they do not have the numbers to successfully move impeachment articles forward, and, as reported by The Dallas Express, the recent indictment against a star witness for lying to investigators has led to a rapid loss of support for the effort.
Criminal referrals, however, are an easier lift than impeachment. A referral does not require a vote. It is simply a recommendation to the Department of Justice to investigate possible crimes. The same process was used against former President Donald Trump by the January 6 House Select Committee.
“At the end of the day, what does accountability look like? It looks like criminal referrals. It looks like referring people to the Department of Justice,” Rep. James Comer (R-KY) said in a recent interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, as reported by The New York Times. “If Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice won’t take any potential criminal referrals seriously, then maybe the next president, with a new attorney general, will.”
The author of the impeachment articles, Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), told NYT that he has seen no evidence that House Republican members have enough votes for impeachment to move forward.
“I’m still interested in why we haven’t gotten better answers on the whole-of-government approach to obstructing all of these investigations,” Armstrong said.
He added that criminal referrals likely would relate to alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The recently released special counsel investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents will also likely be included in criminal referrals.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, requested audio recordings and transcripts relating to claims that Special Counsel Ben Hur made in his report. Hur found that Biden shared classified information with his autobiographer at least three times. Hur also found that ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer deleted audio recordings with Biden to hide evidence that he had received improper information.
“In light of Special Counsel Hur’s investigation and report, the Committee requires materials and information currently in your possession. Accordingly, to advance our oversight, please produce the following documents and information,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Zwonitzer.
Despite finding evidence that Biden had violated the law, Hur did not recommend charges against him, citing the likelihood that Biden would present himself to a jury as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
