OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is ready to preside over several crucial issues facing Congress and the country, but he reminded the White House on Friday that President Joe Biden isn’t out of the water yet regarding impeachment.
Johnson told Fox News that he believes Biden is engaged in an “ongoing cover-up” and has “lied repeatedly” regarding his involvement in and knowledge of son Hunter Biden’s business dealings. He also told the outlet the impeachment inquiry against him will continue “methodically” and does not have a “predetermined” outcome.
“We are the rule of law team, and so we have to respect and regard due process and do this in a way that the founders would have intended,” he told the outlet on Friday. “Impeachment is an awesome power that Congress has, and it is not intended to be, nor should it be, used as a political tool to be wielded lightly.”
“We take this very seriously,” the Louisiana Republican added.
Johnson was elected Speaker earlier this week with the support of the entire GOP caucus.
He said House Republicans will continue investigating the Bidens, “collecting evidence and following the truth and that evidence wherever it leads.”
“We’ve not predetermined the outcome of this. We’ve not pre-judged it,” he said. “But I think everyone can see how it is unfolding,” he added.
The inquiry is led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, Fox News noted.
“They’ve just really done exceptional work uncovering the evidence,” Johnson said. “They’ve done a great job, and they’ve been very methodical here.”
The outlet added:
Legal experts have been torn on whether Congress can initiate impeachment proceedings for alleged treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors that transpired before holding the office of the presidency.
The scope of the impeachment inquiry covers the span the time of Biden’s vice presidency to the present, including his time out of office.
When asked about that, Johnson replied: “I think I can argue the case that it should extend that far, but I’m not sure that we will have to in this case.”
In an interview with the network’s legacy host, Sean Hannity, after his election, Johnson said that the Bible informs his worldview.
“You once worked for the Alliance Defense Fund – a Christian advocacy group,” Hannity said. “And comments you made both in writing and advocacy for this group about homosexuality, calling it sinful destructive, and not supporting gay marriage, quote, ‘no clear right to sodomy in the Constitution.’ You have been getting hammered on this. And I wanna ask you about it. I wanna know exactly, you know, where you stand. Some of these comments were 15 years ago.”
“I don’t even remember some of them,” Johnson replied. “I was a litigator that was called upon to defend the state marriage amendments. If you remember back in the early 2000s, I think there [were] over 35 states, somewhere in that number, that the people went to the ballot in their respective states and they amended their state constitutions to say marriage is one man and one woman. Well, I was a religious liberty defense and was called to defend those cases in the courts.”
Johnson then claimed being gay is a choice and said his worldview is, “Go pick up a Bible. But I also genuinely love all people regardless of their lifestyle choices. This is not about the people themselves. I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today in the media, they said, ‘It’s curious, people are curious. “What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?” I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview.’ That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it.”
“That’s your worldview?” Hannity asked, to which Johnson replied, “That’s my worldview.”
