Democrat sports PUTIN mask as he walks to Biden impeachment hearing and then dares Republicans to go ahead with vote

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz wore a Putin mask Wednesday as he walked into the House Oversight Committee's hearing on Hunter Biden's business dealings, part of a broader House GOP-led impeachment probe.

Moskowitz pretended to be the Russian leader as he addressed reporters outside the committee room. 

The Florida Democrat said he as there to thank Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, 'for taking all of our intelligence and using it in the committee.' 

'Maybe he can come see the technology in our grocery stores, thank you,' Moskowitz added. 

He was referring to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson's widely panned Putin interview, a sit-down that happened shortly before the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison. 

Rep. Jared Moskowitz wore a Putin mask Wednesday as he walked into the House Oversight and Accountability Committee's hearing on Hunter Biden's business dealings

'House Oversight Republicans opened this investigation into Joe Biden with the 1023 form, which has now been proven to come right from Russian intelligence,' Moskowitz later said in a statement

Moskowitz removed the mask as he entered the commitee room.

He ignored a reporter's question who asked if his antics were 'childish.' 

In a statement to The Hill newspaper he explained the symbolism of the Putin mask. 

'House Oversight Republicans opened this investigation into Joe Biden with the 1023 form, which has now been proven to come right from Russian intelligence,' Moskowitz said. 

'James Comer did the bidding of Vladimir Putin. The mask was worn to provide that visual,' the Florida Democrat added. 

The Republican-led impeachment effort of President Joe Biden came from an unsubstantiated claim found in a document called an FBI Form 1023, which FBI officials warned GOP lawmakers was not backed up by evidence. 

Instead an FBI source had made the claim - that Biden had taken a $5 million bribe from an executive at Ukrainian gas company Burisma - and written it down.

That source, Alexander Smirnov, has now been indicted by the Justice Department for lying. 

Prosecutors said that Smirnov told them that 'officials associate with Russian intelligence were involved.' 

Mask-less at the hearing, Moskowitz also taunted Comer and dared him to go ahead with an impeachment vote as Wednesday's wild hearing wrapped up. 

'I think we should do it today. Just call for it. I'll make the motion, Mr. Chairman,' Moskowitz said. 'Make the motion to impeach President Biden, go ahead.' 

Comer responded in the negative to Moskowitz and shook his head. 

 'No, nothing, OK we got nothing,' he said. 'So I want to, with my last couple of minutes, show the American people that they're never going to impeach Joe Biden, it's never going to happen, because they don't have the evidence.' 

'OK, this is a show. It's all fake. They just want to do these hearings, it's not leading to impeachment. They're lying to their base. On Newsmax and Fox. Leading these people to believe that they're going to eventually impeach the president. It's not going to happen. At all. Ever Period.'