The evidence ‘looks and smells a lot’ like impeachable offenses, the House speaker said, vowing to press ahead with President Joe Biden’s impeachment probe.
Newly minted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said President Joe Biden lied about his involvement in his family’s business affairs and engaged in a coverup, with the Louisiana Republican vowing that the impeachment inquiry into the president would continue as he now wields the power of the gavel.
Mr. Johnson made the remarks in an Oct. 26 interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, in which he said that removing President Biden from office is a real possibility in light of the evidence that has emerged suggesting that the president may have engaged in bribery.
“We have the receipts on so much of this now,” Mr. Johnson said, referring to evidence that includes bank records showing tens of millions of dollars paid to various shell corporations linked to Biden family members, including the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
While President Biden has denied any involvement in his son’s business affairs, the GOP-led House Oversight Committee has released over 20 examples of evidence tying the president to Hunter Biden’s business dealings.
“There’s a lot of smoke here, and we’re going to find out very soon how big the fire is,” Mr. Johnson said.
‘Influence Peddling’
Records obtained through the panel’s subpoenas to date reveal that the Bidens and their associates have received over $20 million in payments from a variety of foreign entities, with the committee listing these in a timeline of the Bidens’ “influence peddling.”
“It’s a real problem,” Mr. Johnson told Mr. Hannity, adding that the evidence that has emerged thus far is the reason the Republicans launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden in mid-September.
“That’s the reason that we shifted into the impeachment inquiry stage on the president himself because if, in fact, all the evidence leads to where we believe it will, that’s very likely impeachable offenses,” he said. “That’s listed as a cause for impeachment in the Constitution—bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
By Tom Ozimek
