Speaker Johnson on Biden Impeachment Inquiry: GOPs for rule of law unlike Dems Trump Impeachment

Speaker Johnson Speaks at House Republican Press Conference on Biden Impeachment Inquiry Update

On 11/29/2023, Johnson discussed the impeachment inquiry into the president saying that representatives Comer, Jim Jordan, and Jason Smith have done an “exceptional job uncovering the obvious corruption.”

“The Republican Party stands for the rule of law. And the people in charge of this are doing this thoroughly, carefully, and methodically. They’re investigating and gathering all the facts. And to do this appropriately, and to do it in a manner that upholds our constitutional responsibility, requires time, it requires a sound process,” said Johnson.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed some caution about the impeachment push, warning against a rush to judgment. But he says the evidence already uncovered by Republican chairmen is “alarming.” “While we take no pleasure in the proceedings here, we have a responsibility to do it,” Johnson said at a press conference Wednesday with the leaders of the investigation.

During Wednesday’s press conference, HuffPost reporter Arthur Delaney asked Johnson why the GOP continues to bring up Shokin’s firing. Delaney pointed out that during Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, “a lot of State Department officials…came in and said, ‘This wasn’t Joe Biden’s policy, this was our policy. He didn’t do this to benefit his son, he did this because we wanted him to do it.’” “So did they all commit perjury or are you going to bring them back for more interviews?” Delaney asked. “Why are Republicans just ignoring all that testimony?” “No one’s ignoring testimony,” Johnson said.

Only three other presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Trump, who was impeached twice. To date, no president has ever been forced from the White House through impeachment. But former Republican President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 as the House was preparing to take a vote on impeachment articles against him.

Speaker Johnson on Biden Impeachment Inquiry: Republican Party stands for rule of law unlike Dems Trump Impeachment

Transcript Highlights

Transcribed from the video audio:

• These are serious times and this is a very serious matter
• And I’ve said many times over the last few years because impeachment has been an issue that we’ve all become all too familiar with, that next to the declaration of war, you can make an argument that impeachment may be the heaviest power that Congress holds
• That constitutional responsibility lies with the House
• We have a duty to pursue the facts where they lead
• John Adams famously said facts are stubborn things and you heard a recitation of that here this morning
• They’re alarming to the American people, they’re alarming to us
• And so while we take no pleasure in the proceedings here, we have a responsibility to do it
• I’m a lawyer, I’m a constitutional law attorney, I served on President Trump’s impeachment defense team twice
• And we lamented openly and we decried how the Democrats politicized that process
• They were brazenly political and how they brought those meritless impeachment charges against the president