Joe Biden: Despite some deceptively edited social media clips, Rep. Lauren Boebert’s move to force a vote on the president’s impeachment last month was not an actual impeachment vote
Joe Biden Was Not Impeached, Sorry
Last month, Rep. Lauren Boebert introduced a “privileged motion” to push the impeachment of President Joseph Biden, because of what was described as his border policies. This followed numerous attempts by other members of Congress to impeach Biden in the last two-plus year, but this one came with an added twist- it would have forced the full House of Representatives to vote on the resolution.
The House ultimately voted to refer the resolution to committees. This also led to the well-publicized confrontation on the floor of the House between Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who accused her Colorado counterpart of piggybacking off her idea for an impeachment resolution. This, in part, led to Greene’s ejection from the House Freedom Caucus.
“I’ve donated to you, I’ve defended you. But you’ve been nothing but a little [*****] to me… And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them,” Greene said during their confrontation, as reported by the Daily Beast; Greene’s office later confirmed the accuracy of the quote, while criticizing Boebert for allowing the bitter exchange to be made public.
Soon after, became clear that Boebert did not have the votes to pass an impeachment resolution through the House, and it lacked the support of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy went on to reach an agreement with Boebert in which she was able to introduce the resolution, but have it referred to committee.
“What majority do we want to be,” McCarthy reportedly said in a conference meeting that week, as reported by CNN. “Give it right back in two years or hold it for a decade and make real change?”
“I think to prematurely bring something up like that, to have no background in it, it undercuts what we’re doing,” McCarthy told the press afterward, with “what we’re doing” presumably referring to the House Oversight Committee’s endless investigations of Hunter Biden.
The Boebert resolution led to something else- some misleading social media videos that have shown Boebert speaking, followed by the House voting (on the referral resolution), and then proclaiming “Biden is impeached!”
This is, of course, not what happened. Biden has not been impeached.
“Some on social media are misrepresenting the House’s June vote to send the articles of impeachment to the committees, falsely suggesting it means Biden has already been impeached,” The Associated Press’ fact-checking column said this week.
“Articles of impeachment are only the first step in the impeachment process. The constitutional equivalent of an indictment, they detail charges against an elected official. Impeachment occurs if the House approves the articles, which has not happened so far in this case. If approved, the Senate then votes whether to acquit or convict the official.”
Boebert is facing a tough re-election fight against Democrat Adam Frisch, who nearly defeated her in 2022, in the nation’s closest House race. Frisch announced last week that he has raised $2.6 million in the second quarter, which represents a record for “the most money raised from donors by a challenger in a House race in an off-year,” Colorado Politics reported.
It’s not clear yet what Boebert herself raised in the quarter, but she had been out-raised by about $1 million by her Democratic opponent in the first quarter of this year. While Colorado’s Third District is undoubtedly right-leaning, Boebert is a very controversial figure, and defeating her appears to be a high priority for Democrats.
“Boebert continues to vote against the interests of her constituents while devoting her time to ‘angertainment’ antics that do nothing to help CO-3,” Frisch, the Democrat, said in a statement. “We can do better than Boebert, and thanks to our generous supporters, we will defeat her in 2024.”
Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
From 19FortyFive
Joe Biden Is Starting To Scare Everyone
