OPINION:
The third impeachment witch hunt of former President Donald Trump led by unchecked grand inquisitors Reps. Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney of the so-called Jan. 6 select committee is the phoniest one yet.
In 2019, Mr. Trump became a victim of the first impeachment hoax based on a routine phone call with the president of Ukraine. On the heels of his failed three-year Russia collusion embarrassment, conspiracy theorist Rep. Adam B. Schiff ran a desperate sham trial complete with a fake whistleblower to impeach Mr. Trump for absolutely no reason.
Later, when President Biden was found engaging in a similar phone call with the president of Afghanistan, no one batted an eye. But unlike Mr. Trump, the opaque Biden White House still hasn’t released a transcript of the call. This horrible double standard was pure vindication for Mr. Trump.
The second illegitimate impeachment of Mr. Trump conducted after he left office in 2021 was far more damaging to our system of government than the first. That political circus was carried out after the events of Jan. 6 in which Mr. Trump told rally-goers to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
The Pelosi-controlled House of Representatives, with the help of Ms. Cheney and nine other RINOs, then proceeded to impeach the former president without a hearing, without evidence and without affording Mr. Trump any due process whatsoever. In one fell swoop, these Trump-deranged lunatics rendered our critically important impeachment process totally meaningless.
Fast-forward a year later, and new lows are still being achieved in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House every day. It’s widely accepted that any investigation that lacks legitimacy will eventually fall flat on its face due to its weak foundation. And there’s nothing flimsier than what’s being carried out by Mr. Thompson, Ms. Cheney and their frothing band of Trump-haters.
Historically, business is conducted in the U.S. House of Representatives based on the people’s will, and therefore committees are organized according to the size of the caucus of the majority party. In the current 117th Congress, the Democrats hold a razor-thin 222-213 majority. That five-seat majority corresponds directly to the Democrat to Republican ratios on committees. So, the Jan. 6 committee, in reality, should have five Democrats and four Republicans, not seven fire-breathing partisan Democrats and two never-Trump RINOs. At its core, this bogus committee doesn’t reflect the will of the American people, which makes it fatally flawed.
But it doesn’t end there. This illegal select committee has absolute power, no minority rights, no opposition and no check and balance. For example, a congressional deposition without minority counsel or staff present is not a serious legislative proceeding; it’s a sleazy sideshow. This committee is undemocratic and un-American on its face, and it ought to be shuttered before it causes even more damage to the trusted traditions of our republic.
In the absence of real minority representation in this congressional investigation, brutally partisan politicians with axes to grind will cut corners, fudge the truth, mistreat people, abuse power and privacy rights, and ultimately make huge mistakes. That’s why overly broad subpoenas are being shot out willy-nilly. And that’s why text messages are being unethically doctored and selectively leaked to the public by Mr. Schiff. It’s obvious that this committee has reached its conclusions already — you’re guilty until proven innocent in this circus — just like in China and Russia.
Imagine for a moment that Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next January and announce the formation of a Biden Family Corruption select committee with nine Republicans and zero Democrats, complete with unilateral deposition and subpoena authority. And due to the Jan. 6 committee, executive privilege claims are no longer valid, and so West Wing staff would have to face the music about the entire Biden international business portfolio as well as Hunter Biden’s artwork.
You can almost see the mainstream media screaming in unison, “There they go again, Republicans are trying to destroy America with wild partisan investigations.” But the reality is that in the wake of the ongoing Jan. 6 committee’s abusive tactics, precedent in the House of Representatives no longer matters.
America is in crisis on several fronts, yet the Trump-hating Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are still infatuated with “getting” Mr. Trump by any means necessary. Mr. Biden’s policies have devastated America’s economy, created an inflation crisis, a border crisis, a crime crisis, an Afghanistan crisis, a supply chain crisis and a vaccine mandate crisis. Solving these problems should be the focus of the House — not another political witch hunt of Mr. Trump.
Thankfully, voters are paying attention, and they will be holding those responsible for wasting precious time on the latest fanatical Trump impeachment hoax accountable.
• David N. Bossie is president of Citizens United, and he served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President.
