At last count, a variety of Republican members of Congress have recently endorsed impeaching President Joe Biden. And Vice President Kamala Harris. And several members of the White House cabinet, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
Did I mention FBI Director Chris Wray, who was originally appointed by Donald Trump and confirmed by Senate Republicans? Because apparently some in the GOP are ready to impeach him, too.
It was against this backdrop that the list got just a little longer yesterday. The Hill reported:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said on Tuesday that she will move to introduce articles of impeachment against FBI Director Christopher Wray and Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.
To be sure, Wray was already on the list, so the fact that the right-wing Georgian intends to pursue the FBI director over assorted conspiracy theories isn’t altogether notable.
But why would Greene file articles of impeachment against Matthew Graves, a U.S. attorney whose name is almost certainly unfamiliar to the vast majority of Americans?
That’s the interesting part. As a Rolling Stone report summarized, Greene accused the federal prosecutor of “maliciously prosecuting at least 1,000 people from Jan. 6,” and not “real criminals.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces articles of impeachment against Matthew Graves, the US Attorney for DC, for prosecuting Jan. 6 rioters and not "real criminals." pic.twitter.com/eKIDMU03Yl
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) May 16, 2023
In other words, a U.S. attorney in the nation’s capital is prosecuting those who participated in the Jan. 6 attack, so Greene wants to punish the prosecutor by impeaching him. As the congresswoman sees it, to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters is to engage in abuse of power worthy of impeachment.
There is effectively zero chance that such a resolution would pass, and it’s likely that Greene’s effort will go largely ignored in the chamber. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has put the Georgian in a position of influence, but it’s tough to imagine him wanting to wade into these waters.
That said, House Republicans will be free to sign on to Greene’s impeachment resolution as co-sponsors — and I can’t wait to see how many GOP members do exactly that.
