Polk County reps vote along party lines on opening impeachment inquiry of Biden

Polk County’s four members of the U.S. House aligned with their parties in voting Wednesday on a resolution opening an inquiry into whether there is a basis to impeach President Joe Biden.

The three Republicans — Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland; Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Tampa; and Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Clermont — joined all in their party to vote for the resolution. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, sided with all Democrats in voting against the measure, which passed by a vote of 221-212.

Franklin, a second-term representative, posted a statement Thursday morning on X, formerly Twitter, saying he strongly supports an impeachment inquiry.

“The House Judiciary and Oversight Committee’s investigations have uncovered official bank records, personal communications and the testimony of credible whistleblowers that prove President Biden lied to the American people about his knowledge and the extent of his involvement in his family's foreign influence peddling scheme,” the statement said. “Despite mounting evidence, the administration has dismissed these allegations out of hand with a glib ‘nothing to see here’ and refuses to cooperate.”

Franklin cited the unwillingness of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, to offer a deposition Wednesday despite a subpoena issued by House Republicans. The younger Biden, facing scrutiny for business dealings in Ukraine, has said he would testify publicly but not in a closed session. Franklin called Biden’s refusal “unacceptable.”

“This (vote) will further empower Congress to exercise needed oversight and compel the administration and others to cooperate,” Franklin’s statement said. “The evidence uncovered so far is too disturbing to walk away from when the severity of allegations rise to this level. Congress is duty bound to find answers. Americans deserve nothing less.”

While the Republican push for impeachment has focused on President Biden’s possible connection to his son’s business dealings, Franklin raised another issue in a Sept. 23 post on X implying that Biden should be impeached.

“Joe Biden’s Borden (Border) Invasion is a failure to defend the United States, which he swore an oath to do,” Franklin posted. “High Crimes and Misdemeanors? You’re damn right.”

The Constitution states that a president may be removed from office if impeached and convicted by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Webster, a seven-term representative, released a statement about the impeachment resolution.

“Since January, House Republicans have conducted methodical oversight investigations into President Biden’s actions related to his family’s foreign business dealings and have uncovered serious allegations of abuse of power, obstruction, and corruption,” the statement said. “Unlike the Democrats’ soviet style impeachment of President Trump, House Republicans are following the money, evidence, and proper procedures as we investigation President Biden’s influence peddling scheme.”

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Webster said that the resolution will allow House investigative committees to enforce subpoenas and “removes the legal ambiguity the White House has claimed to disregard congressional subpoenas.”

“House Republicans impeachment inquiry has already provided evidence into the corrupt conduct within the President’s family and has shown that Joe Biden and White House officials have repeatedly lied about Joe Biden’s knowledge and extent of involvement in his family’s business dealings,” Webster wrote. “The American people deserve answers, and I am committed to working with my colleagues to hold President Biden accountable.”

Soto’s office emailed a statement in response to a request from The Ledger.

“On Wednesday, I voted against formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden,” said Soto, a fourth-term representative. “There is no evidence of wrongdoing. This is obviously a ploy by House Republicans to distract from their own inaction. The House should be focused on passing a bipartisan budget, Farm Bill, and FAA reauthorization to serve the American people.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Lee had not released a statement about her vote on the resolution. Her office did not respond to a request for comment from The Ledger. Lee is in her first term.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk County reps explain votes on starting Biden impeachment inquiry