Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., said on Wednesday during an interview with Newsmax that the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden is a matter of congressional duty, not a criminal investigation.
"This is an impeachment inquiry, not a criminal investigation, and in Congress, not only do we have congressional authority to conduct this investigation, we have a constitutional responsibility to do so when we've crossed the threshold of reasonable suspicion, which is exactly where we are," Higgins stated.
Higgins, a House Oversight and Accountability Committee member, emphasized his belief in the presence of sufficient evidence to warrant an inquiry into potential wrongdoing by Joe Biden.
"There is a preponderance of evidence supporting our reasonable suspicion that criminal acts, perhaps certainly impeachable acts, have been committed by President Biden," he said.
Regarding Hunter Biden's involvement, Higgins pointed to his role as a key figure in leveraging the Biden family name for personal gain.
"Hunter Biden was certainly like the lead salesman of the Biden brand, and the product that they were supporting was access to Joe Biden," Higgins said. "The product was access to Joe Biden, vice president, and now Joe Biden, the president, so that in and of itself is influence peddling."
Higgins suggested that President Biden may have been complicit in his son's actions, particularly in facilitating access to the vice president for financial gain.
"It appears the evidence would suggest ... that President Biden, while he was vice president, was complicit with the actions of his son and his family members who sold either direct access or the illusion of access to Joe Biden," Higgins stated.
While acknowledging that they are not pursuing specific criminal charges, Higgins argued that the grounds for impeachment extend beyond statutory violations.
"The Founders never intended for impeachment proceedings by Congress to be shackled by the writ of the statute. It was never intended to be a limiting factor whether or not a sitting president or an impeachable executive official had violated a particular statutory crime," he said.
Instead, Higgins emphasized that the essence of impeachment lies in the betrayal of trust and abuse of power rather than adherence to specific criminal statutes.
"The betrayal of trust, the abuse of power and authority, unethical behaviors that belittled the office ... was the original intent of using the term misdemeanor in the definition of impeachable offenses," Higgins concluded.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com