Multiple top Republican lawmakers are reportedly considering expunging Democrats’ partisan articles of impeachment from President Donald Trump’s record if they take back the House in the upcoming elections in November.
The New York Post reported: “If McCarthy (R-Calif.) does indeed take the gavel from Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2021, he will hold immense power to pass legislation — and a vote on expungement almost certainly would yield party-line support.”
“This is the fastest, weakest, most political impeachment in history,” McCarthy told The Post. “I don’t think it should stay on the books.”
“I think [if] we take the majority, some of the key priorities for us are infrastructure, lowering prescription drugs and others. But I think when you look at what the Democrats have done, I also think we have to get to the bottom of it,” McCarthy continued. “There’s still an 18th transcript that was never released about the inspector general. It’s interesting to know, in there there was 179 pages, did Adam Schiff know the whistleblower? Did he meet with the whistleblower? I think a lot of questions are raised about whether that individual, Adam Schiff, was a fact witness.”
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) tweeted over the weekend: “The House of Representatives should EXPUNGE this sham impeachment in January 2021! This was absolutely disgusting what Pelosi and Schiff just dragged our country through. The end is near not only for impeachment, but hopefully also for their abusive grip on their gavels.”
The House of Representatives should EXPUNGE this sham impeachment in January 2021!
This was absolutely disgusting what Pelosi and Schiff just dragged our country through. The end is near not only for impeachment, but hopefully also for their abusive grip on their gavels.
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) February 2, 2020
Numerous other top Republicans told The Post that they backed the move, including:
- Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX): “The president is there and I think ultimately with the things that are going to be coming out in the months ahead, it will be all the more appropriate. More and more people will see that. So then I think by next year it will be an appropriate thing to file and do.”
- Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA): “I think there would be a groundswell of support.”
- Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH): “The president should have never been impeached in the first place [and expungement is] a good idea.”
- Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC): “Certainly having it removed would be appropriate. That said, I don’t know if there is a real vehicle constitutionally to get that done.”
Following the Senate’s acquittal of Trump, White House Press Secretary and Communications Director Stephanie Grisham released the following statement:
Today, the sham impeachment attempt concocted by Democrats ended in the full vindication and exoneration of President Donald J. Trump. As we have said all along, he is not guilty. The Senate voted to reject the baseless articles of impeachment, and only the President’s political opponents – all Democrats, and one failed Republican presidential candidate – voted for the manufactured impeachment articles.
In what has now become a consistent tradition for Democrats, this was yet another witch-hunt that deprived the President of his due process rights and was based on a series of lies. Rep. Adam Schiff lied to Congress and the American people with a totally made up statement about the President’s phone call. Will there be no retribution? Speaker Nancy Pelosi also lied to the American people about the need to swiftly pass impeachment articles they dreamt up, only to sit on them for a month before sending over to the Senate. In the Senate, the Democrats continued to make their political motivations clear – Rep. Schiff proclaimed the issues “cannot be decided at the ballot box” – proving once again they think they know better than the voters of this country. This entire effort by the Democrats was aimed at overturning the results of the 2016 election and interfering with the 2020 election.
Throughout this wholly corrupt process, President Trump successfully advanced the interests of the United States and remained focused on the issues that matter to Americans. He spent his time achieving real victories for the people of this country, and the Democrats – once again – have nothing to show for their fraudulent schemes. The President is pleased to put this latest chapter of shameful behavior by the Democrats in the past, and looks forward to continuing his work on behalf of the American people in 2020 and beyond.