Governor Hit with 12 Articles of Impeachment Over His 'Callous' COVID Restrictions
Republican state legislators are seeking to impeach Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine over his COVID-19 shutdown orders.
Twelve articles of impeachment were filed Monday by state Rep. John Becker, who has been saying since August that DeWine, a fellow Republican, should be impeached for his lockdown policies. State Reps. Nino Vitale, Candice Keller and Paul Zeltwanger joined Becker in supporting the articles.
The articles say DeWine has abused the powers of his office, according to WTVG-TV.
“Governor DeWine’s mismanagement, malfeasance, misfeasance, abuse of power, and other crimes include, but are not limited to, meddling in the conduct of a presidential primary election, arbitrarily closing and placing curfews on certain businesses, while allowing other businesses to remain open,” Becker said in a statement.
“He weaponized the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to bully and harass businesses and the people; to enforce a statewide mask mandate and other controversial measures of dubious ‘value,’ making Ohio a hostile work environment,” the lawmaker said.
DeWine ridiculed the filing from his fellow Republicans.
“I’d like for them to go in and talk to some nurses, who are frontline nurses, who are dealing with people who are dying. I’d like for them to go talk to some family members — maybe a family that didn’t believe that this could happen. Now at Christmas, there will be one less person at their table or more. So, at some point this foolishness has got to stop,” he said, according to WBNS-TV.
“So at some point, this foolishness has just got to stop. And I’m not talking about most Ohioans. There’s just a small number of people who just continue, for whatever reason, to think that this is and act as if this is some big joke. And that this is all some fantasy,” DeWine said, according to WXIX-TV.
“I don’t know how you watch these nurses or talk to them and hear them without understanding that. The vast majority of Ohioans do,” the governor said. “There’s a small number of people out there who are making a lot of noise. And I just wish that they would spend some time talking to somebody who’s suffered through this, someone who sees the suffering every day.”
Becker, however, said DeWine acted improperly to close houses of worship and enforce wearing masks.
“Rather than hearing the cries of Ohioans, Governor DeWine continues to stifle those cries by finding more inventive ways to use masks to muffle the voices of the people,” Becker said. “He continues to have callous disregard for the fact that his isolation policies have led to a shockingly high number of suicides, alarming rates of drug abuse, persistently high unemployment, and the forced abandonment of the elderly by their loved ones.”
Becker wants Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp to allow the Federalism Committee, which he chairs, to take the lead on impeaching DeWine.
“I’m envisioning two hearings in early December followed by a floor vote to allow for a trial in the Senate,” the legislator said, according to WTOL-TV.
“The people of Ohio are looking forward to ending the madness and a Governor gone wild,” he said.
In Ohio, the state House can adopt articles of impeachment, leading to a Senate trial. The articles must pass the House by a majority vote.
Becker first announced his intent to seek DeWine’s impeachment in August.
“Many Ohioans find the mask mandate offensive, degrading, humiliating, and insulting. There is also evidence that masks can be hazardous to one’s health. Gov. DeWine doubled down when he expanded the mandate to our school-age children, who are less susceptible to COVID-19,” a news release on his website said at the time.
Becker said in a statement, “I kept holding out hope that we wouldn’t get to this place. For months and months, I’ve been hearing the cries of my constituents and of suffering people from every corner of Ohio. They keep screaming, ‘DO SOMETHING!’ They are hurting. Their businesses are declining and depreciating. Their jobs have vanished. The communities that have sustained their lives are collapsing, and becoming shells of what they once were.”
“Living in fear, many have turned to drugs and yes, even suicide, to end or tolerate the unbearable pain inflicted by the governor upon their livelihoods, and the damage caused by his unraveling of the fabric of Ohio. It is long past time to put an end to government gone wild.
“With deaths and hospitalizations from COVID-19 flattened, the Governor continues to press his boot on the throat of Ohio’s economy. Due to the unilateral actions of Governor DeWine, a growing number of businesses have failed and continue to fail.
“Millions of frustrated, exasperated, and suffering Ohioans are relying on the General Assembly to take control and end their government-driven affliction.”
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