Mike Johnson Plays Tough Guy, ‘It’s For Congress To Decide’ When Impeachment Is Over, So There

What a flaming joke this is, and still, the House Republicans continue to pump oxygen into their stillborn impeachment baby, insisting that at any moment, it will stop turning blue and rise off the table and grow instantaneously into The Hulk, a viable and formidable threat to the president of the United States. The entire world has observed this joke and knows that for the past eighteen months a futile impeachment probe has been in process against Joe Biden. White House counsel Edward Siskel sent Mike Johnson a letter Friday stating, “Your impeachment is over,” but Johnson had to stomp like a schoolyard bully and retort, “Oh, yeah? That’s what you say.” (Read exact quote below, this is snarky paraphrase.) Axios:

Why it matters: The letter signals the White House’s increasingly aggressive offense on impeachment, as Democrats see the GOP inquiry fizzling out.

• House Republicans have spent the last year and a half on an impeachment probe that appears unlikely to end in charges against President Biden.
• The investigation — launched amid Republicans’ allegations that Biden improperly benefited from his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings — hasn’t proven any criminal wrongdoing by the president.
• The letter to Johnson from White House counsel Edward Siskel comes as a growing number of Republicans acknowledge that impeaching Biden is unlikely. Johnson himself hasn’t committed to holding a vote on any impeachment articles.

The big picture: The GOP investigation was always an effort to undermine Biden’s case for re-election. The probe has had many offshoots, focusing on the finances of the president’s family, discredited allegations about a bribery scheme, and scrutiny of the Biden family’s alleged influence peddling.

James Comer’s last ditch effort — after Alexander Smirnov ran afoul of the FBI — was to have Robert Hur testify. He was supposed to provide something earth shattering and all that was for naught, which is what Siskel said.

• Siskel’s letter describes the GOP lawmakers’ interest in the documents case as “a flotation device for the sinking impeachment effort.”
• Hur’s testimony failed to unearth any bombshell revelations linked to the impeachment probe.

So what happened is, “Johnson’s team shot back at the White House letter, saying in a statement to Axios that it’s “not surprising” the Biden administration wants the investigation to be over. “The White House does not get to decide how impeachment gets resolved, that is for Congress to decide,” Raj Shah, deputy chief of staff for Johnson, wrote in a statement. So there. Ha ha on you, White House. Mike Johnson will decide when it’s over.

Fine, take all the time you need. You’re not going to look any less stupid as time goes by although admittedly the public’s attention will be focused on bigger and better things. And unless I miss my guess, that’s what Johnson is depending on. If the news cycle is focused on other matters, it makes him less stupid when he admits that the GOP is finally throwing in the towel.