Democratic presidential candidate Representative Dean Phillips from Minnesota expressed strong disapproval of the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, characterizing it as “sickening” and accusing Republicans of manipulating the impeachment process for political gain. In an interview with NewsNation’s Dan Abrams, Phillips voiced his concerns about the weaponization of impeachment as a political tactic in Congress, emphasizing the lack of evidence that would justify such an inquiry.
Phillips, who declared his 2024 White House bid in October, differentiated the current inquiry into Biden from the two impeachments of former President Trump. He suggested that Trump’s potential victory over Biden, as indicated by polls, influenced his decision to run against the incumbent president.
While acknowledging some nuance in Trump’s first impeachment related to soliciting foreign intervention in the 2020 election, Phillips emphasized his belief that inciting violence to obstruct the certification of the 2020 election results constituted an impeachable offense. Despite voting to impeach Trump for both offenses, he criticized the ongoing inquiry into Biden, asserting that there is no credible evidence, and Republicans are merely attempting to find something.
Phillips acknowledged ethical concerns regarding President Biden’s brother and son, who are implicated in the inquiry, but he argued that they are not the President. The House’s formal approval of the inquiry into Biden, marked by a recent vote, is viewed by Republicans as a significant step that could bolster their legal arguments.
Expressing his belief that the inquiry into Biden will negatively impact the president, Phillips pointed out that many Americans do not closely follow the news. He suggested that the mere existence of an inquiry could lead people to perceive both Trump and Biden as corrupt, which he deemed unfair. In a separate interview, Phillips indicated that the opening of the inquiry could make Biden unelectable, even in the absence of concrete evidence of wrongdoing.