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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dropped some bad news on President Joe Biden just as his 2024 reelection campaign kicks into gear.
In an interview Saturday with Fox News, the Louisiana Republican said he believes he has enough Republican votes to launch an impeachment inquiry into Biden.
“I believe we will,” Johnson said when asked if the GOP will have the votes. “I suspect no Democrats will assist in this effort, but they should.”
He added during the interview that the inquiry is a “necessary step,” noting further: “I think it’s something we have to do at this juncture.”
“Elise (Stefanik) and I both served on the impeachment defense team of Donald Trump twice when the Democrats used it for brazen, partisan political purposes,” Johnson said on Fox & Friends Weekend. “We decried that use of it. This is very different. Remember, we are the rule of law team. We have to do it very methodically.”
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Just the News reported: The Biden administration has been facing investigations from House Republicans over his family’s overseas business dealings and alleged weaponization of the federal government. Johnson said that those leading the investigations are being stonewalled by the White House.
“Our three committees of jurisdiction — Judiciary, Oversight, Ways and Means — have been doing an extraordinary job following the evidence where it leads,” he said. “But now we’re being stonewalled by the White House, because they’re preventing at least two to three DOJ witnesses from coming forward, a former White House counsel, the national archives…the White House has withheld thousands of pages of evidence.”
Last month, Johnson said that the GOP-led impeachment inquiry had reached a phase where Republicans are set to take testimony from “key” witnesses under oath.
The Louisiana Republican said in a statement that he had just received an update from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who is leading the inquiry, as well as two other lawmakers who have been tasked to assist with the investigation — Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), The Daily Wire reported.
“At this stage, our impeachment inquiry has already shown the corrupt conduct of the president’s family and that he and White House officials have repeatedly lied about his knowledge and involvement in his family’s business activities,” Johnson said, per the statement.
“It has also exposed the tens of millions of dollars from foreign adversaries being paid to shell companies controlled by the president’s son, brother, and their business associates,” he noted further, per the outlet. “Now, the appropriate step is to place key witnesses under oath and question them under the penalty of perjury, to fill gaps in the record.”
The Speaker concluded: “I commend the good work of Chairmen Comer, Jordan, and Smith. As we move forward toward an inflection point in this critical investigation, they have my full and unwavering support.”
Then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced the impeachment inquiry in late September.
“Today, I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” he said. “I do not make this decision lightly. Regardless of your party or who you vote for, these facts should concern all Americans. The American people deserve to know that public offices are not for sale.”
“I would encourage the president and his team to fully cooperate,” he added. “We will go wherever the evidence takes us.”
Earlier in the month, Comer began sending out the first subpoenas to Biden family members, including Joe Biden’s son Hunter and brother James. And this week, Jordan said that Republicans will decide early next year whether they will begin the process of impeaching Biden, adding that the GOP’s impeachment investigation still needs some finishing touches, but many of his supporters already think there is enough evidence to impeach.
“I believe we will get the depositions and the interviews done in this calendar year and then make a decision early next year whether the actual evidence warrants going to articles of impeachment and moving to that stage of the investigation,” Jordan added.
