Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) officially filed one article of impeachment against President Joe Biden on Friday for withholding weapons from Israel.
Biden ignited controversy this week after threatening to withhold military weapons from Israel and essentially placing conditions on military aid, warning Israel not to invade Rafah, a major population center in southern Gaza.
“… used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and its ally Israel.”
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah … I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah,” Biden said on CNN.
The White House confirmed on Thursday that officials have already withheld one shipment of weapons, consisting of 3,500 munitions.
The article of impeachment, therefore, accused Biden of “abuse of power,” claiming that by conditioning military aid to Israel, the president has engaged in a quid pro quo.
The impeachment article states:
Using the powers of his high office, President Biden solicited a ‘quid pro quo’ with the foreign government of Israel by withholding precision guided weapons shipments in order to try an extract military policy changes. President Biden sought to pressure the Government of Israel to take steps by conditioning official United States Government acts of significant value to Israel.
Specifically mentioning Biden’s remarks on CNN, the article accuses Biden of having “used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and its ally Israel.”
“He thus ignored and injured the interests of the Nation,” the article alleges.
On Thursday, Mills labeled Biden “Quid Pro Joe.”
The resolution language mirrors the language that Democrats used in their impeachment resolution against then-President Donald Trump in 2019, accusing him of withholding military aid from Ukraine for political reasons.
For its part, the Biden administration called Mills’ resolution “ridiculous.” A White House official said that Israel is receiving all aid that Congress has appropriated to it.
“Trump failed to spend dollars appropriated by Congress that he was legally required to spend,” that official said. “This is about a purchase made by a foreign government and our decision whether to deliver that purchase right now, which could enable an operation we’ve publicly and privately objected to.”
Meanwhile, more than two dozen House Democrats sent National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan a letter on Friday urging the administration not to move forward with plans to withhold military aid from Israel.
“With democracy under assault around the world, we cannot undermine our ally Israel, especially in her greatest hour of need. America’s commitments must always be ironclad,” they said. “We have a duty to continue to equip Israel with the resources she needs to defend herself and crush the terrorists who also seek to do America harm, free the hostages including the Americans, continue delivering critical humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza, and to stand by our democratic allies around the world.”
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