[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4430-H4433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ISSUES OF THE DAY
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Self). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 9, 2023, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson)
is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Louisiana?
There was no objection.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, this week House Republicans
will pass a resolution condemning the actions of New Mexico Governor,
Michelle Lujan Grisham, a former Member of this body.
Late on a Friday night earlier this month, the Governor took action
to suspend open carry and concealed firearms in her State. Yeah, you
heard that right. She claimed so-called emergency powers to combat a
public health crisis, she said, and on a whim, she attempted to
restrict the Second Amendment rights of every law-abiding New Mexico
resident, the citizens of her State, the citizens of this country.
Her action, of course, was overtly unconstitutional. It is
functionally useless, and it will only divide Americans further.
Someone with elementary-level knowledge of the Constitution would, of
course, know this. Fortunately, New Mexico residents and law
enforcement openly defied her order, and it was panned by lawmakers
across the country, even some of our Democratic colleagues in this
body.
Mr. Speaker, here is the interesting thing I wanted to note today: It
is ironic that Attorney General Merrick Garland was here on the Hill
and has been in the Judiciary Committee in an oversight hearing for the
last several hours. He is America's top law enforcement officer in
charge, of course, of our top law enforcement agency, the Department of
Justice. One would think that this type of issue, this event in New
Mexico, regardless of the politics, that that is something the DOJ
might intervene in, but they haven't.
Now, by principle, of course, we are conservatives, and we believe in
less Federal Government intervention. The less the Federal Government
is involved in State affairs, the better overall. But this is not the
case. In this situation, the issue here is the DOJ's selective
application of justice and its clear targeting of red States for
passing laws that its duly elected Representatives voted for.
Think about these few examples.
In 2021, the DOJ sued the State of Georgia for passing election
integrity reform. That suit failed, and Georgia had record voter
turnout just a year later.
Months later, the DOJ sued the State of Texas over laws--your State,
Mr. Speaker--passed to protect unborn children. The Supreme Court
refused to intervene, and statistics show that abortions in Texas have
plummeted, thankfully, as a result.
Earlier this year, the DOJ sued the State of Tennessee for a ban on
child sex change procedures. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
rejected the suit, and now it is State law.
The DOJ, Attorney General Garland in particular, has displayed a
penchant for filing public lawsuits against red States for passing
conservative policy through their democratically elected legislature.
They do so with weak charges, based on unconstitutional arguments on
cases they know they cannot win, but that is not the point. They have
politicized the DOJ.
Here is the big question. Given those examples and the trend of this
Department of Justice, why hasn't Merrick Garland hosted a press
conference or announced a Federal lawsuit into the State of New Mexico
for arbitrarily suspending the constitutional rights of its citizens?
I will tell you why. It is no secret. It is because New Mexico's
action serves the Biden administration's stated political goals.
The DOJ will sue red States for passing conservative policy, while
turning a blind eye to Democrat Governors who unilaterally curtail
constitutional rights. They will put grandmothers behind bars for
protesting abortion but refuse to prosecute violent offenders who
actually attack the pro-life pregnancy centers. They will prosecute
President Trump for allegedly mishandling classified documents, but
they give President Biden a complete pass for even worse infractions.
When we say the DOJ has been weaponized, this is exactly what we are
talking about, and this is what the American people see.
Mr. Speaker, today the House Judiciary Committee, as I mentioned,
asked Attorney General Garland about these questions and many more.
Right now, 65 percent of the American people have no faith in the
Department of Justice. It is because of his leadership. He has eroded
the rule of law. He has destroyed public trust in an essential American
institution.
I used my time this morning, I was the first questioner on our side
in Judiciary, and I asked the Attorney General about the DOJ's Hunter
Biden investigation. This is a big question on the minds of my
constituents and most of ours around the country.
I asked him plainly:
Have you had personal contact with anyone at FBI
headquarters about the Hunter Biden investigation?''
His answer was, I don't recollect the answer to that
question.
Really?
Okay. Let me get this straight, I told him, the Attorney
General of the United States cannot remember if he discussed
an FBI investigation into the son of the sitting President of
the United States? That is your testimony under oath?
[[Page H4431]]
Yes, it is, he said.
It is extraordinary.
Mr. Speaker, frankly, we didn't expect full transparency today from
this Attorney General. He and his top DOJ lieutenants have shown us,
they have demonstrated over and over that they hold no regard for the
rule of law and really are just acting as political hatchet men
protecting their boss, President Biden.
The Attorney General was clearly unwilling or unable to provide the
essential answers that we needed today. We will continue to press for
them. That is our job. That is our constitutional duty on Judiciary to
provide oversight over the DOJ.
Mr. Speaker, we have a great lineup of Members here to speak this
afternoon on some very important topics to the country.
I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Van Drew).
Mr. VAN DREW. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Johnson for his
leadership. Mr. Johnson is focused. He is an individual who is bringing
this whole body forward, and I look forward to working with him
continually on these issues.
There is a saying, we all know it, the truth shall set you free. The
accusations made against the Bidens more than require an investigation.
These accusations have painted a picture of corruption, bribery, and
shameful behavior unbecoming of our executive branch.
Let's talk about them a little bit.
Bank records obtained by the Oversight Committee reveal almost $20
million in payments directed to Biden's associates and family.
These aren't Republican talking points. These aren't Jeff Van Drew
talking points. This is the reality of what we have already found.
Over 150 transactions involving the Bidens have been flagged as
``suspicious activity.'' That is not only by the banks, but also the
Treasury Department.
President Biden himself participated in phone calls with his son,
Hunter--it is a fact--effectively acting as the merchandise that was
being sold by his son, Hunter, who was the salesman. They closed deals,
and we want to know what they are about: calls that led to the
funneling of millions of dollars to Hunter and other Biden family
members and Hunter's associates.
The list goes on and on and on. I am only touching the surface. This
is more than enough to garner the extra powers granted from an
impeachment inquiry. Our goal is to get to the truth.
As I said in the beginning of this conversation, the truth shall set
you free. If there is nothing for them to worry about, they should
welcome an impeachment inquiry. They should welcome producing the
records, and they should welcome producing the statements. It is just
the truth that we want.
We have a mission, a duty, and a responsibility. Our duty is to
restore the American people's faith in our institutions. Our mission is
to reaffirm that no one person, no one group is ever above the law in
the United States of America.
This inquiry will move forward, with full transparency and steadfast
resolve. If there is nothing here to hide, there is nothing here to
worry about. If the allegations are confirmed, there will be, and needs
to be justice.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend. He is
exactly right. We had no choice but to proceed to the impeachment
inquiry phase because that is where the evidence has led us, as you
noted. We have a responsibility. Article II, Section 4 of the
Constitution says very clearly that a President shall be removed from
office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, high
crimes and misdemeanors. We have credible allegations of a number of
those infractions. Bribery is one of them. High crimes and misdemeanors
are another. We have mounds of evidence now stacking up to support
those allegations, so we do not have a choice under the Constitution
but to proceed accordingly, and that is what we will do. We will do our
constitutional duty.
Mr. Speaker, I yield next to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens), my
good friend and Super Bowl champion.
Mr. OWENS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 684, the
resolution condemning Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's
unconstitutional actions violating New Mexicans' Second Amendment
rights.
The Second Amendment is not an optional legal provision that
bureaucrats can toss aside at their whim. It is a fundamental principle
to ensure that every law-abiding citizen has the God-granted right to
protect themselves, their families, their property, and their
liberties.
Growing up in the Deep South, I witnessed how Black Codes and Jim
Crow laws unjustly restricted minority communities from owning
firearms. In the mid-1950s, Martin Luther King, Jr., kept firearms for
self-protection, but his application for a concealed weapons permit was
denied because of racist gun control laws in his State.
Gun control laws proposed by Democrats and State legislatures,
Congress, and the White House aggressively erode our basic
constitutional rights. As it was in the civil rights era, the Black
community has seen this movie before. As Democrats abridge our rights
to self-protection, they legislate away the commonsense tools for Black
Americans to protect themselves. As they push ``defund the police'' and
``soft on crime'' policies, it is the urban Black community that
suffers. We are now experiencing all-time highs in homicide, robbery,
car thefts, physical assaults, and destruction of Black-owned
businesses.
House Republicans will never waver in our commitment to defend the
rights of all law-abiding citizens, regardless of race, creed, color,
or ZIP Code. We will continue to fight to safeguard Americans'
inalienable rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. It is an
honor to lend my support to this House resolution. I pledge to continue
to champion the Second Amendment rights of all Americans. I thank
Representative Johnson for bringing us together for this purpose.
{time} 1500
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. That
was well said.
If time permitted today, I am sure we would have every Republican in
the Conference come to the floor and speak to the same issue because it
is so outrageous that we have this trampling upon some of our most
fundamental freedoms; the Second Amendment, of course, being among
them.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman and former mayor from Texas
(Ms. Van Duyne).
Ms. VAN DUYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the Biden family
business of selling out America.
Here is just a sliver of what we know:
The Biden family and associates received nearly $20 million in
payments funneled through shell companies. They were paid by Russia,
China, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Lord knows who else.
Joe Biden lied about his family receiving over $1 million in payments
from China through an associate.
Hunter put Joe on the phone at least 20 times in business meetings
with foreign nationals.
Hunter Biden's business associates visited the White House at least
80 times while Joe Biden was Vice President.
There were more than 150 bank transactions involving the Biden family
that U.S. banks flagged as suspicious.
Not only was Joe Biden involved with Hunter's clients and flying
Hunter around the world on Air Force Two to generate more business, but
it is also apparent that Joe was using his office as Vice President to
manipulate U.S. policy. We see that with Ukraine, Burisma, in the
firing of the prosecutor.
Unraveling the mountain of Biden's lies, his shell companies, and
Joe's actions as Vice President is part of what we will be
investigating in these hearings, in the impeachment inquiry.
If you are going to sell out America, this is what it looks like.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend; that was
well said.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).
Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louisiana (Mr.
Johnson), for yielding.
So here we are, after nearly 9 months of investigations into the
Biden family's influence-peddling schemes, this body has uncovered
mounting credible evidence of corruption, evidence that
[[Page H4432]]
has come to light through numerous committee meetings, whistleblower
testimony and interviews, document discovery, and rigorous
Congressional oversight.
Despite the false claims of leftwing media outlets such as CNN and
MSNBC, there is, in fact, evidence of peddling and corruption. Under
the IRS whistleblower testimony, two IRS agents testified under oath
that Joe Biden was present at at least one meeting with Hunter Biden's
foreign clients.
Agent Joseph Zeigler, formerly known as ``Whistleblower X,''
testified that he was handcuffed and hamstrung throughout the IRS's 5-
year investigation of Hunter Biden and was ultimately stopped from
moving forward in the manner that he believed to be appropriate for the
offenses committed.
Over $17 million were sent to Hunter Biden from companies operating
in authoritarian, oppressive nations.
The Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers also alleged that the DOJ
would not let them pursue Joe Biden or any connections that would lead
to him. They allege a campaign of delay, divulge, deny surrounded their
requests to pursue leads that led to Joe Biden.
This allegation has been confirmed by a former FBI SSA. The Special
Counsel was appointed to obstruct Congressional investigations and
inquiries behind the curtain of an ongoing investigation.
The testimony of these IRS whistleblowers have been corroborated by
the testimony of the FBI SSA and two additional colleagues that claimed
that they were fired from the investigation by order of Attorney Weiss.
Devon Archer's testimony to the Oversight Committee is that Joe Biden
is a brand. Archer alleges members of the Biden family used Joe Biden's
position as Vice President to sell power and access to interested
parties. VP Biden would protect oligarchs from competent legal probes
and investigations into foreign countries, such as Ukraine.
Hunter or another family member would be paid money, and then Joe
would meet with the interested party in Washington, D.C.
A quick summary: An oligarch pays money to Hunter Biden's company or
associate, which then is paid to Hunter, and a portion of that goes to
the big guy, his father.
The Shokin investigation: In 2015, Hunter was pressured by Burisma to
call D.C. to get help in removing a Ukrainian prosecutor, Viktor
Shokin.
Shokin was indeed later fired, and video evidence has surfaced of Joe
Biden bragging about getting him fired in order for foreign aid dollars
to flow to the Government of Ukraine, right on tape.
Joe Biden's family received $17 million from contacts from foreign
nations, according to IRS documents.
What was being done in exchange for this money? The National Archives
have confirmed that Joe Biden used pseudonyms when communicating with
Hunter and his business associates from official government emails,
including the Office of the Vice President.
So you have DOJ misconduct, confirmed by the FBI SSA and leadership,
that DOJ--specifically, Merrick Garland--prevented investigators from
doing their jobs as best as he could.
The FBI D.C. office tipped off the Secret Service of an interview
with Hunter Biden that was being planned. The FBI headquarters also
tipped them off of a planned search of Hunter's residence which gave
time and forewarning for any incriminating evidence to be removed.
No ordinary American would ever expect to receive such preferential
treatment if they were accused of the crimes that Hunter and Joe have
been. What they can normally expect is a 4 a.m. knock on the door with
a battering ram for even lesser crimes.
Investigators are not allowed to ask about the big guy. The bank
records show over 170 Suspicious Activity Reports filed by banks on the
Biden family financial transactions. This means banks believe that over
170 separate financial transactions in Biden's family bank accounts
were linked to bribery, money laundering, or other serious financial
crimes.
An FBI informant documented conversations that indicated to them that
Joe pressured foreign companies to send millions to the family
business. The claims from Democrats and their media allies that the
impeachment inquiry was opened without evidence are not only false but
also illogical.
Inquiries exist for the purpose of uncovering evidence. An
impeachment inquiry is an investigation into whether an impeachable
offense has been committed. It is not the whole scope of impeachment.
It gives the ability to do further investigation.
Where there is smoke, you will probably find fire.
There is evidence from whistleblowers and former associates that Joe
Biden was intimately involved in Hunter's corrupt business dealings.
This is an impeachable offense. The allegations that since this
conduct allegedly only happened when Joe was VP and not while President
thus means that an impeachment is not possible, that is false.
Impeachable conduct includes high crimes, bribery, or other
misdemeanors that occurred while the accused was in a previous Federal
office.
Joe Biden has lied about his connection to his son's corrupt business
dealings for years.
Now, we are not supposed to take impeachment lightly around here.
Indeed, it has been abused the last few years a couple of times, but
House Republicans are going to go through a process, due process, and
find real evidence.
The conclusion is that despite the disparate claims of the partisan
media and their Democrat allies, there is indeed mounting evidence that
President Joe Biden was involved in his family's influence-selling
scheme and intimately involved in Hunter Biden's corruption.
An impeachment inquiry will help House Republicans get to the bottom
of this, and I hope Democrats will be interested as well, and then
determine whether or not there is proof of these crimes. If there
indeed is, then President Biden has committed impeachable offenses.
Again, impeachment is not to be taken lightly, not to be just thrown
around for political purpose but utilized. This impeachment inquiry is
a very important ability for Congress to answer the questions that
many, many American people are asking about the obvious corruption that
is coming forward, thanks to whistleblowers, and others, that are
bringing this evidence to the front.
With that, let's proceed, and let's do this properly.
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, very well said by the
gentleman.
Look, let's hasten to say we take no pleasure in this. There are a
lot of big challenges that the country needs to fix. We don't want to
spend time and resources investigating the President, impeaching a
President.
Next to declaring war, this is the heaviest power that we have in the
House of Representatives, but Article I of the Constitution does give
us the ``sole power of impeachment'' here.
We have no choice in the matter. Given the evidence, given the
allegations, we have to pursue it, and we will. We are often asked: Why
is the House majority, why are the House Republicans spending so much
time investigating? If we had not done these investigations, we
wouldn't have all of this evidence.
Why?
It goes back to the theme of what I was saying earlier: The
Department of Justice is simply not doing its job. Under normal
circumstances, the DOJ would be investigating all these allegations of
corruption but they simply looked the other way.
As I noted earlier, Attorney General Garland, who is just now leaving
the Committee on the Judiciary, he has been here all day, has abused
the Department to pursue political agendas. He has sued conservative
States over their local policies. He has raided the home of President
Biden's main political opponent. The Department is obstructing at the
same time the Hunter Biden investigation and impeding the House's
impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
What are we to do?
I was home on the August district work period. I was doing townhalls
in my district in Louisiana, and I will tell you that at every venue,
the number one question everybody has is: When will there be
accountability?
I mentioned earlier that 65 percent of Americans now have no faith.
They
[[Page H4433]]
don't trust the Department of Justice. We are losing faith in our
institutions because the people do not see accountability. They don't
see a fair system of justice. They see a two-tiered system of justice.
It is frightening. You cannot maintain a Constitutional republic if
the people do not trust the system of justice. They don't believe it is
fair. They don't believe that they are going to get a fair shake, that
every American, regardless of who they are, is going to have equal
justice under law. That is the threat right now. There is nothing more
serious than that.
Mr. Speaker, we will pursue the truth, and we will follow it wherever
it leads and try to return that accountability to the people.
Mr. Speaker, I end the Special Order hour here, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
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