Debate continues today in the House Judiciary Committee over whether President Donald Trump should be impeached for allegedly pressuring the leader of Ukraine for political gain during a July phone call. Republican Congressman Mike Johnson from Benton sits on House Judiciary and says the evidence presented during the House Intelligence hearings does not come close to an impeachable offense.
“I think a lot of the evidence gathered is suspect for a number of reasons and it doesn’t look to us like there’s anything that would merit impeachment at least to this point,” said Johnson.
New Orleans Democratic Congressman Cedric Richmond is also a member of the Judiciary Committee and he says there’s no doubt the president abused his power in order to gain an advantage in the 2020 election.
But Johnson says a number of House Democrats who have predetermined this political outcome, with some vowing to impeach the president days after he took the oath of office.
“I think all of that taints the whole process,” said Johnson.
But House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Adam Schiff, says their investigation has determined the President tried to coerce an ally, Ukraine, that is at war with an adversary, Russia, into doing the president’s political dirty work.
If the Judiciary Committee votes to adopt articles of impeachment, the process moves to the House floor. If the Democratic-controlled House votes to impeach Mr. Trump, the Senate would decide if the president should be removed from office. It would take a two-thirds vote to do so in the Republican-controlled chamber.
Johnson fears the process will drag on for months.
“I think it’s in the country’s best interest to put this behind us, I don’t think there’s not enough evidence to merit impeachment and I think most of the people now see that,” Johnson said.