“Fox & Friends” hosts sparred during a Wednesday segment over whether House Republicans are “slow-walking” a possible impeachment of President Joe Biden.
The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and two Secret Service officials for documents to investigate allegations that Secret Service tipped off then-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s 2020 transition team regarding an upcoming Hunter Biden interview.
Co-anchor Steve Doocy said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy does not have the votes among moderate Republicans from districts where Biden won in 2020 to impeach the president. Co-anchor Brian Kilmeade said McCarthy is not “slow-walking” the impeachment inquiry process, and argued he does not have the leverage.
“Just look at McCarthy’s slot. He’s not slow-walking anything. He only has a market,” Kilmeade said. “Have Matt Gaetz pick up the phone and call some moderate Republicans, he can switch his side. McCarthy would be more than happy to let him do that.”
“Well, this is not the first impeachment push we have seen in the Republican Congress. [Republican Colorado Rep.] Lauren Boebert of Colorado did it back in June over the border and where did that go? Those articles of impeachment wound up in a committee, where they are now sitting,” Doocy said.
“Don’t you think Republicans would be for this if there is more information—” co-host Ainsley Earhardt began.
“If there were proof,” Doocy interjected.
“If [Republican Kentucky Rep. James] Comer can get proof and if he can get to the bottom of that and then Republicans would be all for that. But they definitely need that proof to start an impeachment,” Earhardt said.
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is moving to force an impeachment vote against Biden on the House floor and threatened to remove McCarthy from his position if he stands in the way.
“I worked very hard in January to develop a toolkit for House Republicans to use in a productive and positive way. I don’t believe we’ve used those tools as effectively as we should have,” Gaetz told conservative radio host Todd Starnes. “That means forcing votes on impeachment. And if Speaker McCarthy stands in our way, he may not have the job long.”
McCarthy previously warned his party not to force an impeachment vote after Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert brought forth a resolution to impeach the president in June. McCarthy said the majority needs to make “real change” instead of bringing forth an impeachment process “prematurely.”
“I think to prematurely bring something up like that, to have no background in it, it undercuts what we’re doing,” McCarthy said in June.
Doocy said the Oversight Committee has been unsuccessful in finding proof that Biden broke the law in connection to his son’s business dealings. Kilmeade said Biden has clearly lied about meeting with Hunter’s business associates or having any knowledge about his business dealings.
“Why don’t the Republicans call those Biden family members?” Doocy asked.
“They should, they should,” Earhardt said. “They so quick to impeach Donald Trump, but yet when it comes to Biden, and everyone’s slow-walking. We need to get to the bottom of it.”
“I don’t think the Republicans are slow-walking it. There’s a process to getting it and bringing it forward,” Kilmeade said.
He referenced a WhatsApp message from July 30, 2017, finding that Hunter threatened a Chinese business associate by saying his father was sitting next to him. Doocy called on House Republicans to subpoena the Biden family and anyone with direct knowledge to get answers about the many findings regarding Hunter.
Whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) testified before the House Ways and Means Committee that the Department of Justice (DOJ) slow-walked an investigation into Hunter’s gun crime and tax misdemeanors. They also told Congress that the agency withheld certain information, including the WhatsApp message, from agents overseeing the investigation.
The testimony led McCarthy and other House Republicans to call for an impeachment inquiry into Biden’s alleged lies.