Mills files articles of impeachment, citing Biden's pledge to withhold weapons from Israel

U.S. Rep. Cory Mills of Florida has filed an article of impeachment citing President Joe Biden's threat of withholding arms from Israel if it launches an attack on Rafah, Gaza, as an "abuse of power."

Mills, a Republican who represents part of Volusia County in Florida's 7th District, compared Biden's actions to President Donald Trump's in 2019, when he delayed Congress-approved military aid from Ukraine when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not agree to Trump's request of an investigation of Biden and his family.

Mills even tweeted a photo of how he cut and pasted much of his article of impeachment from the one filed against Trump in 2019 by Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York. The House adopted two articles of impeachment on Dec. 18, 2019, against Trump, while the Senate voted to acquit on Feb. 5, 2020, with both votes mostly along party lines.

“In violation of his oath to faithfully execute the office of president and to uphold the Constitution, President Biden abused the powers of his office by soliciting a 'quid pro quo' with Israel while leveraging vital military aid for policy changes," Mills said in a news release Monday.

“This egregious action not only compromised the credibility of the United States but also undermined the interests of our longstanding ally, Israel," Mills said. "Therefore, President Biden's conduct warrants impeachment, trial, removal from office, and disqualification from holding any future office under the United States.”

Others say there is a distinct difference between Biden's motivation − steering policy − and Trump's, which they say was personal and political gain.

Wasserman Schultz: GOP effort to 'politicize' serious issues

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the longest-serving Florida Democrat in the House, voted to impeach Trump in 2019. She drew a contrast between the president's actions then and Biden's in 2024.

“Trump threatened to withhold critical aid from Ukraine solely to strongarm them into interfering in our elections, based on a Kremlin conspiracy. Trump’s undermining of NATO and submission to Putin only emboldened Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine," Wasserman Schultz said in a prepared response to a question.

"By contrast, President Biden demanded Congress provide aid to our ally Israel immediately after Hamas’ October 7^th attacks, all while House Republicans blockaded this vital assistance for six months and patted each other’s backs for passing nonbinding resolutions," she said, adding his record of support for Israel is "unassailable."

"Republicans have no respect for the Constitution and desperately continue to politicize deadly serious issues,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Democrat opponents react

Two Democrats seeking to oust Mills in November were critical of Mills' impeachment effort.

“Instead of working to solve problems for all Floridians ... or putting forward solutions for everyday Americans, or voting to expel disgraced former Congressman George Santos, or voting to send aid to Ukraine and Israel, or voting to not shut down the government, Rep. Cory Mills continues to do the exact opposite and seems most focused on causing further division and chaos," said Jennifer Adams, who said she is a native Floridian who grew up in the district.

Allek Pastrana said he expects the impeachment effort against Biden to fail.

"Cory Mills is part of one of the most unproductive sessions of Congress. Rather than addressing pressing issues affecting constituents like affordable housing, insurance relief, the opioid crisis, inflation, or border security, Mills is squandering taxpayer dollars on pointless impeachment hearings and following President Trump," Pastrana said.

Legal expert: Trump and Biden actions are different

Biden's actions are a common use of presidential power and not impeachable, said Frank Bowman III, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law. Bowman testified as an expert witness on impeachment during a committee hearing on Republicans' proposed impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Bowman called Trump's action "a classic impeachable 'high crime and misdemeanor,' for three reasons.

"Trump used the powers of his office, not to gain a public benefit for the US, but to extort from a foreign country actions which were a purely private political benefit to himself," Bowman said in an email. "Trump used the powers of his office to subvert the electoral process by interjecting false information about a political rival."

Also, Trump's actions were "contrary to the well-established, indeed consensus, foreign policy interests of the country to support Ukraine and oppose Russian expansionism," he said, while he failed to notify Congress, as required by a 1974 law, of the holds his administration placed on the Ukraine aid in 2019.

"By contrast, President Biden is seeking action (or rather restraint) from Israel that is not does not involve a private political benefit to himself, does not subvert the electoral process, and is not contrary to either congressional legislation or consensus U.S. foreign policy interests," Bowman said.

But Mills argues Biden's threat to withhold the weapons from Israel came in response to political pressure from the left, as pro-Palestinian protests have occurred across the nation, while Biden is trailing Trump in polls in key swing states such as Michigan, where large populations of Arabs and Muslims are present.

Biden's acts are for "political gain," Mills told Fox News on Monday.

"The difference is that this is not an accusation. this is something that has actually taken place by Biden and his administration," Mills said.

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Congressman Cory Mills proposes impeachment of President Joe Biden