Headline: Democrats try to subpoena Giuliani at impeachment inquiry hearing, as GOP witness offers warning

The House impeachment inquiry hearings into President Biden have begun and Democrats came out of the gate swinging. They made a motion to subpoena Rudy Giuliani and his associate Lev Parnas, who pushed one of the original accusations against the Bidens. 

Giuliani and Parnas claimed Joe Biden tried to influence Ukrainian politics to help Burisma, a company that paid Hunter Biden to be a board member.  

“If this disfunction caucus is going to insist on going forward, we must receive the testimony of Rudy Giuliani and Lev Parnas – the insiders who know the origins of the lie upon which this sham impeachment is based and who worked to spread it,” Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said. 

But Republicans used their majority on the committee to squash the motion. It led to an interesting back and forth between the committee’s top Republican and Democrat. 

“This is going to be an informative hearing for your Mr. Raskin because we are going to present evidence,” Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said. 

“What evidence? There’s no evidence and witnesses. There are no fact witnesses” Ranking Raskin responded. 

“Well just sit back and let the American people see the hearing,” Comer said. 

But what the American people saw next was one of the Republicans’ own witnesses say the evidence he’s seen so far does not constitute a high crime or misdemeanor. 

“I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley told the committee. “That is something an inquiry has to establish. But I also do believe that the House has passed the threshold for an inquiry into President Biden.” 

Attorney Jonathan Turley laid out guidelines that he hopes the House will follow to ensure due process. 

He addressed key accusations against Biden in ways he said help the President’s case. Those accusations include the President’s son and family using Biden’s Vice Presidency to make millions of dollars overseas and then lying about it repeatedly. 

“Self dealing is a difficult issue under the impeachment clause. The framers sought to avoid ambiguous standards,” Turley said. “President Biden can be dishonest, can even lie to the American people and that would not constitute an impeachable offense.” 

The House has not voted to formally open the impeachment inquiry. When Democrats opened their first inquiry into Donald Trump they waited a month to hold a vote. If Republicans follow the same standard, they have until October 12.