President Joe Biden says Republican lawmakers should drop their “outrageous” efforts to impeach him ahead of the 2024 election after a former FBI informant central to that cause was indicted for falsifying statements.
Biden, speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for East Palestine, Ohio, addressed the indictment for the first time Friday afternoon.
“He is lying and it should be dropped,” he responded simply when asked about the subject. “It’s been an outrageous effort from the beginning.”
Alexander Smirnov, who had served as a confidential human source for the FBI dating back to 2010, was indicted Thursday evening and accused of making a false statement in 2020 surrounding Biden’s alleged involvement and payment by the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma. Smirnov’s account had been touted by Republicans, including House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY), as a critical piece of evidence of alleged Biden family corruption.
Following the release of the Smirnov indictment, Democratic lawmakers called for Republicans to immediately drop the impeachment proceedings against Biden.
“In a detailed indictment, Special Counsel David Weiss—who was appointed by former President Donald Trump—has demonstrated how key evidence at the heart of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry is based on a lie,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the House Oversight Ranking Member, said in a statement. “Special Counsel Weiss’s investigation is just the most recent to debunk the Ukraine-Burisma conspiracy theory at the heart of this fraudulent impeachment inquiry.”
Comer himself said that the impeachment inquiry would proceed, and that Smirnov doesn’t undermine the GOP’s case.
“To be clear, the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023. It is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings,” he claimed.
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You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.