Republicans’ own witness in their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden on Thursday completely destroyed their claims before the hearing even began.
The House GOP held its first hearing on Biden’s alleged corruption. Republicans have insisted for months that the president is guilty of criminal wrongdoing, but they have yet to produce any actual evidence of their claims.
As one of their first witnesses, Republicans called on Jonathan Turley, a conservative legal scholar who previously served as a Justice Department tax attorney. Turley was set to act as a content witness to help analyze the Biden family’s business dealings—but even he admitted there’s not enough evidence.
“I do not believe that the evidence currently meets the standard of a high crime and misdemeanor needed for an article of impeachment,” Turley said in written testimony submitted ahead of the hearing.
Turley also said he did believe it was “warranted” for the House to investigate potential connections between Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings. But Republicans have been doing just that for months, and they still haven’t found proof linking the president to Hunter Biden’s work.
As Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin pointed out, “If the Republicans had a smoking gun, or even a dripping water pistol, they would be presenting it today.”
“But they’ve got nothing on Joe Biden,” he said in opening remarks.