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House Speaker Mike Johnson said the impeachment inquiry into President Biden is now imminent.
Speaking on Fox News, the new president-elect told the outlet that the decision to launch a formal impeachment inquiry vote against Biden was the “necessary step.”
Johnson, appearing on Fox alongside House Republican conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik, said the investigation would not be used as a partisan political tool.
The Louisiana representative said: ‘A formal vote on the impeachment inquiry will allow us to take the necessary next step and I think it is something we need to do right now.
‘It has become a necessary step. Elise and I were part of the impeachment defense team against Donald Trump twice, when Democrats used him for blatant partisan political purposes. We denounce that use. This is very different.’
Johnson also added that he believes Republicans now have the votes needed to launch the investigation, saying, “I think we will do it.” I suspect no Democrats will help in this effort, but they should.”
The new president-elect told the outlet that the decision to launch a formal impeachment inquiry vote against Biden was the “necessary step.”
President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden are shown here arriving at Fort McNair, June 25, 2023, in Washington.
He continued: ‘Our three jurisdiction committees (judicial, oversight, ways and means) have been doing an extraordinary job following the evidence wherever it leads.
“Now the White House is blocking us because they are preventing at least two or three Justice Department witnesses from presenting a former White House lawyer, the national archives, the White House has withheld thousands of pages of evidence.”
Johnson added that Republicans “have a duty to do this” and “we can’t stop the process.”
A spokesman for White House counsel Ian Sams’ office said cnn in a statement: “This is a baseless and politically motivated attempt to smear President Biden with lies, and reflects how this chaotic House GOP is focused on the wrong priorities, when they should be working on real issues that they care about.” Americans really care, like the president is.
House Republicans have been pushing to formalize their impeachment inquiry into President Biden, but have not yet secured the number of votes needed to do so.
The investigation was declared open by former President Kevin McCarthy in September, who accused Biden of being involved in a “culture of corruption.”
At the time, McCarthy said, “House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations about President Biden’s conduct.”
McCarthy was under intense pressure from the party’s conservative wing to take such action, including threats to remove him from office.
Earlier this week, Republican Majority Leader Tom Emmer told members in a closed-door meeting that there could be a vote to open the investigation in the coming weeks.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had faced intense pressure from the right wing of the Republican Party when he called for an impeachment inquiry.
House Republicans have been pushing to formalize their impeachment inquiry, but so far have not gotten the number of votes needed to do so. Mike Johnson is seen here earlier this week.
Backing away from a vote to authorize the investigation indicates that the House is far from an actual vote to impeach the president.
Last month, Johnson said the House was nearing a decision on whether to vote on articles of impeachment – the final step in the process – not an investigation.
“I think we will reach a decision point on this very soon,” he said on Nov. 2.
Republican leaders have long insisted that they do not need a vote to authorize the investigation, in part to avoid putting members in swing districts in a difficult position.
Holding a vote on the impeachment inquiry would be a risky move by House Republican leaders, who have yet to gain enough support for the inquiry in their narrow 221-213 majority.
With Democrats united against impeachment, Republican leaders would need near-unanimous support on their side for the vote to be successful.
Spokesman Kevin McCarthy suggested the investigation was not coming to an end in an interview with DailyMail.com on Tuesday. “We haven’t finished doing all the research,” he said. “It may take a little longer.”
Johnson, meanwhile, said the evidence the Republican chairmen of the Oversight, Ways and Means and Judiciary committees have already collected is “alarming,” even as he warned against rushing to judgment.
Melissa Cohen and Hunter Biden with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden on Nantucket over the Thanksgiving holiday
James Biden, left, has been subpoenaed. His wife Sara has been invited for an interview.
“While we are not happy with the process here, we have a responsibility to do it,” Johnson said at a news conference Wednesday.
He defended the impeachment inquiry, saying it was very different from the two impeachments of Trump, whom he defended at trial.
Johnson said Republican efforts against Biden are “the exact opposite” of Trump’s impeachment and that Republicans defend the “rule of law.”
House Republicans have created a new impeachment website to expose the evidence they say they have uncovered against the president.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee has gone back and forth with the Biden family after they subpoenaed Hunter and James Biden to testify.
Hunter’s lawyers offered to testify any day in December, as long as it was open.
But Chairman James Comer insisted Hunter must appear for a closed-door deposition before giving televised testimony before the committee.
Hunter is currently under indictment on weapons charges filed by Special Prosecutor David Weiss, where he has pleaded not guilty.
But additional tax charges could also be levied, and anything Hunter Biden testified about in a congressional hearing would be admissible in a criminal trial.