As expected, there was a floor debate on the Republican resolution to authorize an impeachment inquiry targeting President Joe Biden. As expected, the back and forth between the parties was predictable: GOP members pretended they had incriminating evidence, and Democrats reminded them that no such evidence exists in reality.
But there was one unscripted comment that stood out for me, and it was uttered on the House floor by Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina:
“The evidence, I think, as things come out, will finally show what the trail is, and the fact that there are consequences. You cannot just not say you are innocent and not have to prove it. So I fully support this inquiry.”
As the video clip of the GOP congressman’s comments showed, Norman was looking across the aisle, as if he were trying to convince Democratic members of how right he was.
The trouble, of course, is that the South Carolinian flubbed the basics on burdens of proof.
To hear Norman tell it, Biden says he’s innocent, but that’s not good enough — because, according to the far-right congressman, the Democrat has to “prove“ he’s innocent.
For now, let’s put aside the inconvenient fact that, for all intents and purposes, the president has already demonstrated his innocence by cooperating with assorted inquiries, and providing investigators with documents and records, each of which confirm Biden didn’t do what Republicans have accused him of doing.
Let’s instead remind the GOP lawmaker how the presumption of innocence works in the United States.
In our system, if someone is accused of wrongdoing, it’s not incumbent on them to prove their innocence. Rather, it’s up to the accusers to make their case against their suspect. It’s a bedrock principle of our entire system.
That said, the fact that Norman got this wrong helps shed some light on his party’s evidence-free impeachment crusade: It appears some Republicans expect Biden to somehow come up with even more…
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