The Senate committee investigating the Trump transition period and the Biden-Burisma allegations has voted to subpoena dozens of people to testify. Many of these will be former Obama era officials who were part of the investigation into the Trump campaign. Questions of what they knew, when they knew it, and what actions they took will obviously be paramount.

Forgive the source, as Politico can’t help by let it’s bias show, but you get the gist.

A Senate committee voted to authorize more than three dozen subpoenas and depositions as part of a highly partisan, Republican-led investigation targeting former Obama administration officials’ role in the presidential transition periodhttps://t.co/ciSTtcthIW

— POLITICO (@politico) September 16, 2020

In a party-line vote, Republican members of the committee gave its chairman, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the power to compel testimony from several current and former officials, including former FBI Director James Comey and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who involved in the transition process in 2016 and 2017 as well as the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The authorization itself means Johnson will be able to wield the threat of politically explosive subpoenas — some against witnesses Trump has repeatedly styled as archenemies — even after Congress recesses in October and the election draws increasingly close.

As I’ve shared before, I believe this is too little, too late. We are now only six weeks from the election and Congress is about to go into recess. Lindsey Graham and company have successfully run out the clock. You’d be forgiven for assuming that was the plan all along. They had years to do this investigation and get it done before the election and that’s certainly not going to happen now. Even if they interviewed one person per day and worked through the recess, they still wouldn’t have a report ready. It’s not possible anymore.

If Republicans wanted to show their voters how impotent and incapable they are, they did a good job here. Of course, Mitt Romney chimed in to double down on that promoting sentiment.

Wow—Mitt Romney on the Biden/Burisma investigation just now:

"It is not the legitimate role of government, for Congress or for taxpayer expense, to be used as an effort to damage political opponents"

— Sam Brodey (@sambrodey) September 16, 2020

Remember, this is the guy who can never be counted on to say a cross word about leftist culture or Democrat actions, but he’s always right there to condemn his own side. Go search for a Romney statement on the ‘Cuties’ controversy, for example, and you’ll come up empty. But the GOP pope is right there to virtue signal about how wrong it is for Democrats to be investigated over their corruption.

In the end, nothing is going to come from this, so I’m a bit confused as to why Romney is even worried. It’s just odd, or not very odd at all actually, that he never managed to muster any criticism of the Obama administration’s politically motivated investigations.

Julie Kelly wasn’t impressed.

He’s covering for himself, too pic.twitter.com/uMUZsJx6Lo

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) September 16, 2020

If anyone in the GOP is still perplexed as to why most conservatives want to rid the party of any sliver of Romney-ism, this is a good example. It exemplifies the worst of GOP cowardice and self-loathing. Anyone under the illusion that’s going to be the party’s identity again might as well go join The Bulwark and become an independent. Because it’s not happening.

(Please follow me on Twitter! @bonchieredstate)