Before the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to authorize its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden (221-212), Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said on the Newsmax program Wake Up America that the House needs to provide the Senate “an air-tight case… make sure its convictable.”
Mullin pointed out that Biden cannot be impeached for any alleged crime he may have committed prior to becoming President of the United States. He explained: “So what he did as vice president, what he did in between the two [offices] may not be impeachable.”
When fellow MAGA Republican, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, learned of Mullin’s hampering comments, he accused Mullin of “protecting Biden.”
.@SenMullin is protecting Biden https://t.co/Sh6GlLawuR
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 16, 2023
Gaetz’s turn on Mullin is unusual as he and Mullin have historically been in agreement when it comes to Biden and the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner Trump.
Both Gaetz and Mullin supported the claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump and signed an amicus brief in support of the Texas vs. Pennsylvania lawsuit aimed at overturning the election results. And in 2022, Mullin tried to pass legislation to expunge Trump’s second impeachment after the January 6 Capitol attack. He also tried to expunge Trump’s first impeachment which alleged in part that Trump urged Ukrainian officials to investigate in the business dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Note: At the end of the Newsmax interview, Mullin said he spoke to five Democratic Senators who told him they would vote to convict Biden if presented with an “air tight convictable case.”
Impeaching Biden would require 67 votes in the Democratic Majority Senate — that means at least 18 Democrats would have to vote with Republicans during an election year.
