Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst suggested to Bloomberg News on Sunday that Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, if elected, could potentially face impeachment immediately after being sworn into office because Democrats have opened Pandora’s box when it comes to lowering the bar for what qualifies as being an impeachable offense.
“I think this door of impeachable whatever has been opened,” Ernst said. “Joe Biden should be very careful what he’s asking for because, you know, we can have a situation where if it should ever be President Biden, that immediately, people, right the day after he would be elected would be saying, ‘Well, we’re going to impeach him.’”
Ernst apparently suggested that the grounds for impeaching Biden could be “for being assigned to take on Ukrainian corruption yet turning a blind eye to Burisma because his son was on the board making over a million dollars a year.”
Ernst’s comments, which were speculative and were an overall reflection of how Democrats’ standards of impeachable conduct could be used against them, were twisted by the author of the report, Jennifer Epstein.
Epstein wrote on Twitter, “Joni Ernst tells me that there would ‘immediately’ be a Republican push to impeach Biden over Ukraine if he’s elected.”
Again, that is not what Ernst said.
Conservative Seattle-based radio host Jason Rantz highlighted that Epstein appears to have a pro-Biden bias as she rolled her eyes in apparent disgust over a question that Biden was asked last year about his son’s, Hunter Biden, new child that he allegedly fathered with a woman in Arkansas.
Some of you are wondering, "isn't Jennifer that bias reporter who rolled her eyes at a legitimate question about Hunter Biden?"
Answer: yup.
Now she's framing a quote out of context to help Biden. She doesn't hide her bias. pic.twitter.com/SocugNhPJz
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 2, 2020
Epstein later deleted her tweet and wrote: “Deleted another tweet on this story because I wrote would when I meant could. Sen. Ernst floated a hypothetical here. I stand by the story.”
Deleted another tweet on this story because I wrote would when I meant could. Sen. Ernst floated a hypothetical here. I stand by the story. https://t.co/S8sUk09W5C
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) February 3, 2020
Daily Wire Editor at Large Josh Hammer highlighted Biden’s policy views in an in-depth profile piece last September:
On The Issues: Although Biden now presents himself as a moderate, centrist figure, the totality of his political career, overall, suggests that he is a firm leftist. Biden has dabbled at times in moderation, including previous support for tough-on-crime legislation and his longstanding stance that he is “personally pro-life” despite his support of legalized abortion. However, he has long been a progressive on legal issues, economic issues, and foreign policy issues, and even preempted President Obama’s “evolution” when, in 2012, he confirmed that he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriage.
Constitution: As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987–1995, Biden oversaw two of the most contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations in recent memory: Those of Reagan nominee Robert Bork and Bush nominee Clarence Thomas. Along with Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Biden helped orchestrate and lead the personally nasty, full-frontal assault that ultimately resulted in the Bork nomination’s failure. Biden’s legislative posture has indicated an expansive view of congressional regulatory power: He helped lead the passing of the Violence Against Women Act, which was partially invalidated on constitutional grounds by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.
Economy: Biden is best described as a Keynesian who believes in the purported economic benefits of large-scale government investments and deficit spending. Along with then-President Obama, Biden shepherded through a massive fiscal stimulus package in the duo’s first year in office, oversaw the passing of the regulation-heavy Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, dramatically expanded the national debt, and hiked income taxes on the wealthy. Biden has long been supportive of a greater federal role in infrastructure spending. On the issue of trade, Biden voted for NAFTA in 1993. Biden has opposed the privatization of Social Security.
Read Hammer’s full piece on Biden here.
This report has been updated to include additional information.