House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) delivered concerning news for President Joe Biden as his 2024 reelection campaign gains momentum. During a Saturday interview with Fox News, the Louisiana Republican asserted that he has garnered sufficient Republican support to initiate an impeachment inquiry into Biden.
“I believe we will,” Johnson announced on whether he’d have enough GOP votes. “I suspect no Democrats will assist in this effort, but they should.”
He added that this is a “necessary step,” further explaining: “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.”
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.”
In the previous month, Johnson revealed that the impeachment inquiry led by the GOP had progressed to a stage where Republicans are poised to gather testimony from “key” witnesses under oath. The Louisiana Republican shared in a statement that he had received an update from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who is heading the inquiry, along with two other lawmakers assigned to aid the investigation—Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), as reported by The Daily Wire.
“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.”
Previous Speaker Kevin McCarthy first announced the beginning of Biden’s impeachment inquiry toward the end of 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.”
In the preceding weeks, Comer initiated the issuance of initial subpoenas to members of the Biden family, encompassing Hunter Biden and James Biden. Jordan stated this week that Republicans would determine early next year whether to initiate the impeachment process against Biden. He added that the GOP’s impeachment investigation is still in need of some finalization, but a significant number of supporters already believe there is sufficient evidence to warrant impeachment.
“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.