House Republican files articles of impeachment against Biden over Israel aid cutoff threat
A Florida congressman announced Monday that he has formally introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden over his threat to cut off some military aid for Israel.
Rep. Cory Mills called it an illegal “abuse of power” and “quid pro quo” for Biden to condition the shipment of certain military firepower to the Jewish state on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shelving plans to invade Rafah.
“As a member of the House of Representatives, it is my constitutional duty to present articles of impeachment against Joe Biden for his most recent abuse of power,” Mills .
“In violation of his oath to faithfully execute the office of President and to uphold the Constitution, President Biden abused the powers of his office by soliciting a ‘quid pro quo’ with Israel while leveraging vital military aid for policy changes.
“This egregious action not only compromised the credibility of the United States but also undermined the interests of our longstanding ally, Israel,” the 43-year-old congressman said. “Therefore, President Biden’s conduct warrants impeachment, trial, removal from office, and disqualification from holding any future office under the United States.”
Mills’ resolution has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and has one GOP co-sponsor, Rep. Elijah Crane (R-Ariz.).
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin informed Congress last week that the Biden administration had “paused” a shipment of precision bombs destined for Israel.
Hours later, in an interview with CNN, Biden, 81, announced that the US would halt the sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel if it invades Rafah, which is believed to be the last major Hamas terror stronghold — and is packed with more than 1 million civilians seeking refuge from the war.
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem,” Biden said.
Mills, a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, argued Biden’s red line is a calculated political move ahead of the 2024 general election intended to garner support from swing-state voters opposed to Israel’s war against Hamas.
“He knew what the Israeli supplemental aid package would include. He knew that once we had congressionally appropriated aid funding, that it was supposed to move forward,” Mills on Monday.
“Instead, he pulled the wool over the eyes of the American people by sending the first shipment, which was taken by Hamas, which is being utilized by their fighters and sold off to help with a counter offensive, while withholding weapons shipments to the [Israel Defense Forces] and to Israel in exchange for political gain in the elections,” Mills said.
Biden is already the subject of an ongoing House impeachment inquiry related to his family’s overseas business dealings, which makes it unlikely that Mills’ resolution would reach even the investigative phase anytime soon, if ever.
