[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 680 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 680
Impeaching Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., President of the United States,
for the high crimes and misdemeanors of betrayal of the public trust.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 24, 2021
Mrs. Boebert (for herself, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Norman, Mr.
Gohmert, and Mr. Hice of Georgia) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Impeaching Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., President of the United States,
for the high crimes and misdemeanors of betrayal of the public trust.
Resolved, That Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., President of the United
States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the
following Article of Impeachment be exhibited to the United States
Senate:
Article of Impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives
of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people
of the United States of America, against Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.,
President of the United States, in maintenance and support of its
impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.
article i
The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ``shall
have the sole Power of Impeachment'' and that the President ``shall be
removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors''. In his conduct of the
office of President of the United States--and in violation of his
constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of
the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect,
and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of
his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully
executed--Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., has willfully abandoned his duty
as President of the United States, in betrayal of the public trust, in
that:
It is the duty of the President as Commander in Chief to ensure the
national security of the United States of America and its citizens, at
home and abroad.
Despite sufficient warning from military and intelligence
personnel, President Biden proceeded to haphazardly withdraw troops
from Afghanistan that resulted in the Taliban gaining full control of
Afghanistan and jeopardized the safety of, and in some cases directly
resulted in the death of, United States citizens, United States Armed
Forces members, and Afghan civilians.
The President of the United States willfully abandoned his duties
as Commander in Chief and is directly responsible for the failed
withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The President of the United States gave aid and comfort to our
enemies, while the Taliban rapidly overtook Afghanistan.
The President of the United States has compromised the physical
security of tens of thousands of United States military personnel,
United States Government operatives, United States civilians, Afghan
allies, other international allies, and tens of billions of dollars of
advanced United States military equipment.
On March 25, 2021, President Biden stated, ``if we leave, we're
going to do so in a safe and orderly way'' when asked about withdrawal
plans for United States troops in Afghanistan.
On April 14, 2021, President Biden stated of the withdrawal of
United States troops in Afghanistan, ``We will not conduct a hasty rush
to the exit, we'll do it responsibly, deliberately, and safely''.
On May 18, 2021, the Department of Defense Investigator General
reported a 37-percent increase in reported attacks initiated by the
Taliban on Afghanistan government forces during the first quarter of
2021 for ``large-scale offenses''.
On June 8, 2021, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated
that once foreign forces leave Afghanistan ``we will be compelled to
continue our war to achieve our goal''.
On June 8, 2021, President Biden transmitted to the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate,
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate, a waiver of the limitations under section 1215(a) of the
William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2021, which section required a detailed report on the risks
associated with leaving Afghanistan. Such a report would have provided
the details of his administration's national security assessment prior
to the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan.
On July 6, 2021, the United States military confirmed the pullout
of Bagram Airfield without notifying the Afghan commander resulting in
the base getting ransacked by Taliban looters and releasing thousands
of ISIS-K terrorists from prison.
On July 8, 2021, President Biden stated that the Taliban ``is at
its strongest militarily since 2001'' and stated, ``the likelihood
there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the
whole country is highly unlikely''.
On July 12, 2021, President Biden ordered 4-star General Austin
Miller, Commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Resolute
Support Mission and United States Forces-Afghanistan, to step down from
his position and depart Afghanistan, leaving the remaining United
States presence without a seasoned leader in the face of growing
Taliban powers.
On July 13, 2021, President Biden received a document signed by 23
staff members of the United States embassy in Afghanistan, with a
warning regarding potential collapse of the Afghan capital of Kabul
soon after the President's withdrawal deadline.
On August 6, 2021, the Taliban took control of the Nimroz province.
On August 11, 2021, President Biden took a week-long vacation at
Camp David despite significant advances and provincial captures by the
Taliban offensive.
On August 15, 2021, as Taliban fighters took control of Kabul, the
United States embassy fell, and billions of dollars of United States
military weapons, including 75,000 vehicles, 200 aircraft, 600,000
weapons were given over to the Taliban. President Biden stated he stood
``squarely behind his decision''.
On August 16, 2021, President Biden addressed the Nation on the
debacle in Afghanistan and stated, ``I am president of the United
States of America, and the buck stops with me''.
On August 20, 2021, President Biden stated that al-Qaida was
``gone'' from Afghanistan despite recent reports from the Inspector
General of Congress and the United Nations that show that al-Qaida
continues to have a presence in Afghanistan.
On August 23, 2021, the Chairman of the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence stated that, ``there were any number of
warnings that the Taliban might take over, and some that included a
potential of a very rapid takeover''.
On August 24, 2021, President Biden stated that he will not extend
the August 31st deadline for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
despite pleas from members of Congress, military personnel, and the G-7
allies. Estimates indicated there were 10,000 United States citizens,
50,000 Afghan special immigrant visa applicants, and 6,000 troops in
Afghanistan at the time. The Pentagon, however, stated that the United
States did not have the capability to safely escort Americans in Kabul
to the airport for evacuation by the August 31st deadline.
On August 26, 2021, a suicide bomb explosion executed by terrorist
group ISIS-K occurred at Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing
eleven Marines, one Navy Medic, and one Army soldier, and injuring over
20 Americans.
The last American military service member was removed from
Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, with hundreds of Americans still
stranded in Afghanistan.
These executive decisions suggest the willful abandonment of the
national security responsibilities of the Commander in Chief. It is the
responsibility of the Congress to reprimand such failure through
impeachment.
President Biden promised the American people a responsible,
deliberate, and safe exit withdrawal from Afghanistan and instead
conducted a reckless, politically motivated, and dangerous withdrawal.
President Biden's conduct during the withdrawal from Afghanistan
has led to international condemnation of the United States, including
from our allies.
President Biden's conduct during the withdrawal has diminished the
United States standing on the international stage, allowing adversaries
such as Russia and China to call into question the United States
ability to fulfill its military and defense commitments.
President Biden's actions allowed tens of billions of taxpayer
dollars in military equipment, including small arms, body armor, land
vehicles, helicopters, and drones, to fall into the hands of the
Taliban.
President Biden jeopardized the safety of United States citizens
and Afghan allies stranded in Afghanistan by willingly sharing their
identities with Taliban officials.
On July 23, 2021, President Biden colluded with Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani on a phone call asking him to mislead the American public
and our allies and falsely portray the status of the war in Afghanistan
and betray the public trust. President Biden explicitly stated ``. . .
as you know and I need not tell you the perception around the world and
in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things aren't going well in
terms of the fight against the Taliban. And there's a need, whether it
is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture''.
These failures have created a permanent rupture of trust between
this military chain of command and the American people and our allies.
In doing this, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., has willfully
abandoned his duty and betrayed the public trust, has directly betrayed
the public trust and continues to demonstrate that he is unfit to hold
the office of President of the United States, to the manifest injury of
the people of the United States.
Wherefore President Biden, by such conduct, has demonstrated that
he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if
allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly
incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. President Biden
thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and
disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or
profit under the United States.
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