Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, pulled no punches on Tuesday as the committee held a hearing on the evidence found so far in the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and whether or not it should continue.
McGovern vowed during the hearing to show “that every absurd Republican allegation against Joe Biden has been debunked” in his opening statement accusing House Republicans of abusing their power and weaponizing the government to smear Biden as a criminal in order to sanitize Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump says jump, the MAGA extremists say how high? Donald Trump asks them to impeach Joe Biden. And here we are,” McGovern began, adding:
They broke the law trying to stop Joe Biden from becoming president. They broke the law trying to violently overturn the election to prevent Joe Biden from taking office. And now they are waging this extreme political stunt by abusing and weaponizing the impeachment process. They tried to overturn the election on January 6th, and now they want to finish the job.And today, Democrats on the Rules Committee will make a simple case to the American people first, that Joe Biden is a man of decency and integrity who respects the law. And this impeachment charade is an extreme political stunt designed to help Donald Trump win. Second, that every absurd Republican allegation against Joe Biden has been debunked. Third, that despite this fraudulent process, Republicans have received extraordinary cooperation from the White House.
And fourth, that Republicans are doing this because they are focused on the wrong priorities and want to distract from their total failure to get anything done. And when this is all over, I am confident that the American people will overwhelmingly agree that this whole impeachment stunt is a national disgrace designed to distract from their own incompetence and to help Donald Trump, a twice impeached ex-president who’s been indicted more times than he’s been elected.
“I’m confident that they will see that this is about vengeance, retaliation and distraction. Those on the far right of the Republican Party have nothing to show for their time in power,” McGovern continued.
“They have never accepted that Joe Biden won. Obviously, they have contempt for the American people and they are once again trying to overturn the election. They are willing to do anything and everything to get their way. Our democracy be damned. And my so-called moderate colleagues on the other side of the aisle are unwilling or unable to say enough is enough. To those who are dead set on pursuing this extreme nonsense. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back,” he concluded.
Watch the full clip above via C-SPAN.