It’s not exactly a secret that the impeachment crusade congressional Republicans launched against President Joe Biden has struggled badly. After a year of obsessive investigations, GOP officials simply haven’t uncovered any incriminating evidence against the Democratic incumbent.
It’s reached the point at which some Republicans, frustrated by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s lack of progress, have begun describing the crusade with words and phrases such as “clueless,” “disaster,” and “parade of embarrassments.”
Of course, Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan don’t quite see it that way. On the contrary, when pressed, the far-right congressmen and their allies insist that they still have one important thing: an informant who provided the FBI with damaging information about Biden.
This dimension to the story has long been literally unbelievable, but this week, it got much worse — not for the president, but for those hunting him. NBC News reported:
An FBI informant has been indicted on two counts for allegedly feeding the bureau false information about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign. Alexander Smirnov, 43, disliked Joe Biden and was arrested in Las Vegas after returning from a trip overseas, according to the Justice Department.
The indictment alleges that Smirnov “provided false derogatory information to the FBI” about Biden and his son. The charges stem from the special counsel investigation led by David Weiss — the Trump-appointed prosecutor.
Reporting on the developments shortly after the indictment was announced, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes described this as “the most spectacular embarrassment imaginable” for the Republicans going after the president.
It’s important to understand why this is true: For Biden’s GOP detractors in the House and Senate, Smirnov’s claims were foundational. He was the party’s star witness. Sean Hannity’s Fox News show ran with this informant’s claims in at least 85 separate segments last year. The Republicans’ entire “bribery” conspiracy theory was based on the claims this one “informant” made to the FBI.
And now he’s been arrested — for allegedly lying to the FBI.
“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,” House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin said in a statement. The Maryland Democrat added, “It is an undeniable fact that Republicans’ allegations against President Biden have always been a tissue of lies built on conspiracy theories, and I formally call on Speaker Johnson, Chairman Comer, and House Republicans to stop promoting this nonsense and end their doomed impeachment inquiry.” If recent history is any guide, GOP officials will ignore Raskin. Indeed, I have no doubt that the House Republicans’ crusade against Biden will continue, even after their star witness was charged with lying to the FBI, and their entire case against the president has unraveled in humiliating fashion. I am, however, less sure how the crusade will continue. The party was clinging to one misguided thing, and now that thing is gone.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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