Speaker Johnson and House Republican leaders hold a press briefing as the House considers a Contempt of Congress resolution against Attorney General Merrick Garland.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you. Good morning.
00:22Tomorrow. House Republicans are
00:24honored to host at our special
00:26political conference. President
00:28Donald J. Trump, where we will
00:28hear from him and his leadership
00:30that has caused skyrocketing and
00:32painful Bidenflation, the
00:34historic Biden border crisis,
00:36surging violent crime, a
00:38weakened national security and
00:40chaos around the world. This
00:42week on the floor, House
00:43Republicans are delivering on
00:44our promise to hold the Biden
00:46administration accountable when
00:48we bring to the floor our
00:49resolution to hold Attorney
00:51General Merrick Garland in
00:52contempt of Congress for
00:54refusing to comply with our
00:55subpoena and release the audio
00:57tapes of Joe Biden's interview
00:59with special counsel Robert
01:01Herb. It's time for Merrick
01:02Garland to stop stonewalling and
01:04release the Biden tapes.
01:06Additionally, we will bring to
01:07the floor the national defense
01:09bill for FY 25. And as a senior
01:11member of the House Armed
01:12Services Committee, I'm proud to
01:14have helped craft this
01:15legislation, securing critical
01:17wins for my home district for
01:19Fort Drum, the 10th Mountain
01:20Division and all of upstate New
01:22York. This bill also includes
01:24significant investments in
01:25emerging technology, provides
01:27additional resources for
01:28families, equips our service
01:30members with modern
01:31capabilities and platforms as
01:33they fight to protect our
01:34nation and deter our
01:35adversaries. I also want to
01:37quickly touch upon yesterday's
01:39deposition of corrupt former
01:42disgraced New York Governor
01:44Andrew Cuomo, whose fatal
01:46nursing home order resulted in
01:48the deaths of over 15,000
01:50innocent seniors dying in
01:52nursing homes. This was a long
01:54overdue step for those families
01:56who lost their loved ones in
01:58New York State. We will continue
02:00to fight to deliver justice and
02:02accountability and answers for
02:03those families who are still
02:04grieving. Thank you to Chairman
02:06Brad Wenstrup of the Select
02:08Committee for making yesterday
02:09possible. With that, I'm honored
02:11to be joined by my colleagues
02:13today, and I want to turn it
02:14over to Mark Alford, who will be
02:16talking about the national
02:17defense bill. Mark Alford from
02:19Missouri.
02:22Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and
02:24thank you, Mr. Speaker and all
02:25my colleagues up here. This is a
02:27good day in America, and I'm so
02:29honored to be on the Armed
02:30Services Committee. Folks, we
02:32are at a critical, critical time
02:34in our nation's history. Our
02:35military plays a vital role in
02:38shaping the future of American
02:39freedom, safety, and security,
02:41while also ensuring that a
02:43Western rules-based order
02:44remains the foundation to a
02:46stable world. This year, we have
02:48focused on three major
02:50components in the National
02:51Defense Authorization Act, the
02:53NDAA, enhancing U.S.
02:55countering China's aggression,
02:57and improving the quality of
02:59life for our service members.
03:01China's aggression is the
03:03greatest national security
03:04threat to America today. To
03:06deter China and other
03:07adversaries, we're investing in
03:09key platforms like the B-21
03:11Stealth Raider, which is being
03:13built right now in Palmdale,
03:14California, and will eventually
03:16be housed, one of the three
03:18bases, at Whiteman Air Force
03:20Base in the Fourth
03:21Congressional District of
03:22Missouri, which I represent.
03:24This NDAA strengthens our
03:26military assets in the
03:27Indo-Pacific by increasing ship
03:29building capacity and
03:31authorizing two Virginia-class
03:33submarines. The FY25 NDAA will
03:37also increase junior enlisted
03:39service members' pay by almost
03:4120%, enhance housing for
03:44service members, boost pay and
03:46benefits for childcare staff,
03:48expand access to medical care
03:50for service members. The
03:52foundation of this year's NDAA
03:54is the quality of life for
03:56those who serve. And I'm so
03:58glad to be a part of the
04:00quality of life panel that
04:02General Don Bacon chaired under
04:04the direction of Chairman Rogers
04:06for the Armed Services
04:07Committee. This is so important
04:09to our committee. This is a
04:10bipartisan bill to improve the
04:12quality of life for those who
04:14are willing to serve and
04:16possibly die for our great
04:18nation. Now is the time to come
04:20together. To come together to
04:22enhance the FY25 NDAA and
04:24strengthen America's defense,
04:26deter our adversaries and
04:28support the brave men and women
04:30who defend our freedom. I'd like
04:32to bring out the chair of the
04:33Judiciary Committee now, Chair
04:35Jim Jordan.
04:36Thank you, Mark. Last September
04:38the Speaker of the House
04:39announced that the House of
04:40Representatives would be
04:41entering an impeachment inquiry
04:42phase of our oversight work. On
04:44December 13th the full House of
04:46Representatives voted to do
04:48just that, to formalize that.
04:50This is a power that is
04:52exclusively resides in the House
04:54of Representatives and one of the
04:56most important powers that we
04:58have as an institution and as a
05:00body. Robert Herr on page one of
05:04his special counsel report said
05:06Joe Biden knowingly kept
05:08classified information, Joe
05:09Biden knowingly disclosed
05:10classified information and he
05:12disclosed that information to
05:13someone who wasn't allowed to get
05:15it. On page 231 he told us why
05:17Joe Biden did those things. He
05:19said Joe Biden had strong
05:21motivations for ignoring
05:23classified procedures because he
05:24was writing a book, a book for
05:26which he got paid $8 million. So
05:29we have motive, an $8 million
05:31motive. We have the elements of
05:32the crime, knowingly keeping,
05:34knowingly disclosing, giving
05:35that information to someone
05:36who wasn't allowed to get it. We
05:38have all that and yet the
05:39special counsel said he would
05:40not recommend charges for
05:42President Biden. We think we're
05:45entitled to, we don't think, we
05:47know we're entitled to all the
05:48evidence and that includes the
05:50best evidence which is this
05:51audio tape. That's why we sent
05:53the subpoena. The attorney
05:55general is being clear he's not
05:56going to give that information
05:57to us. So that's why we have the
06:00contempt resolution. We assume
06:02this is going to wind up in
06:03court but we think our case is
06:04strong and we think that we will
06:06prevail but step one is to pass
06:08the resolution holding the
06:09attorney general in contempt for
06:11not giving the House of
06:12Representatives, the body who's
06:14in an impeachment inquiry phase
06:15of our oversight
06:16responsibilities, not giving us
06:18the best evidence. Finally I
06:19would just say this, we think
06:20the privilege has already been
06:22waived. We think when they gave
06:24us the transcript they waived
06:26the privilege and understand
06:28that there have already been
06:29times where the transcript that
06:31we've received from the White
06:32House doesn't match up with what
06:34was actually said by the
06:36President of the United States
06:37and so again for all those
06:38reasons we think we need this
06:40information and that's why the
06:41resolution will be on the floor
06:42today and I'll let the next
06:43gentleman talk about the vote on
06:45that and that's our good whip
06:46Tom Emmer.
06:47Thank you Jim. So the question
06:50that should be asked is what are
06:52they hiding and why? These are
06:55fundamental questions behind
06:56House Republicans resolution
06:58this week to hold Attorney
06:59General Merrick Garland in
07:00contempt of Congress for
07:02refusing to comply with our
07:04lawfully issued subpoenas. To
07:07set the scene Attorney General
07:09Garland handpicked special
07:11counsel Robert Herr and Jack
07:13Smith to oversee the
07:14investigations into Joe Biden
07:15and Donald Trump's handling of
07:17classified documents. Herr
07:19concluded that although
07:20President Biden quote willfully
07:23retained and disclosed
07:24classified materials as a
07:26private citizen close quote
07:28criminal charges were not
07:29warranted because Biden is an
07:32quote elderly man with a poor
07:34memory. In stark contrast former
07:39President Donald Trump was hit
07:41with a 37 count indictment from
07:44special counsel Smith alleging
07:46that he willfully retained
07:48classified documents after
07:50leaving office. Second the White
07:52House has a history I'm sorry
07:56second in accordance with our
07:58legislative oversight authority
08:00of special counsels and
08:01impeachment inquiry into
08:03President Biden House
08:04Republicans on the Judiciary and
08:06Oversight Committee subpoenaed
08:07Attorney General Garland for
08:09records including transcripts
08:12notes video and audio files
08:16related to special counsel
08:17Robert Herr's investigation in
08:19order to assess his conclusions
08:22and while the Justice Department
08:24handed over the transcript of
08:26Biden's interview with Herr
08:28they've denied and refused to
08:31hand over the corresponding
08:33audio recordings. This is a
08:35problem for a couple of reasons
08:37first transcripts do not and
08:41cannot capture things like tone
08:44inflection pace and pauses that
08:47fully convey a person's message
08:49the audio recordings are
08:51necessary to adequately evaluate
08:53special counsel Herr's
08:55assessment about President
08:57Biden's memory and to determine
08:59whether the DOJ is engaging in
09:01a two-tiered application of
09:04justice by refusing to indict
09:06Joe Biden. Second the White
09:09House has a history of editing
09:11official transcripts to cover up
09:13Biden's gaffes. If the interview
09:15audio matches the transcript why
09:17not release it? Why not comply
09:20with our subpoenas? Is Biden's
09:22Department of Justice covering
09:25their boss? These are all
09:28imperative questions that our
09:29committees will get to the
09:30bottom of in this week's contempt
09:32resolution is a vital step in
09:34that effort. I encourage all of
09:36my colleagues to vote yes on this
09:38important issue and with that I
09:40turn it over to our leader Steve
09:42Scalise.
09:44Thank you whip we have another
09:46busy week on the floor and of
09:49course it starts with the
09:50contempt of Merrick Garland and
09:52then my colleagues have talked
09:53about this is something that we
09:54have been trying to get the facts
09:56out for months and months.
09:58Merrick Garland knows what the
10:00rules are he issues subpoenas
10:02himself and he doesn't let the
10:04person that he's issuing the
10:06subpoena to decide whether or not
10:08they want to comply yet that's
10:10what he said he said he just
10:12doesn't think that this is
10:13something that he has to comply
10:15with well with all due respect
10:17Mr. Garland this is not your
10:19decision Congress has a
10:20constitutional duty to perform
10:22oversight which is what we're
10:24doing we're in the middle of an
10:25impeachment inquiry which is
10:27Chairman Jordan pointed out has
10:28been voted on by the house
10:29already and now we need to get
10:31the facts you look at the White
10:33House themselves they've
10:34acknowledged that as they've
10:35turned over the transcripts
10:37those transcripts have been
10:39edited well there's one way you
10:42can find out what the edits were
10:43and that is to actually get the
10:44source tape get the audio that's
10:46the only way we're going to know
10:47what was really said we know
10:50already by the White House his
10:51own admission that the transcript
10:53does not reflect what was said
10:55it's only the audio that does
10:57which is why we need to get the
10:58audio tape and clearly there's no
11:00executive privilege otherwise has
11:01been pointed out they wouldn't
11:03have turned over the transcript
11:05in the first place so we need to
11:07get the audio and that's why
11:09we're moving forward we're also
11:11taking up the NDAA as Mr. Alford
11:13talked about really really
11:14important that we send a message
11:15to our men and women in uniform
11:17that we're going to give them
11:18all the tools necessary not only
11:19to keep our country safe but to
11:21make sure that they and their
11:22families have the things that
11:24they need so they don't have to
11:25be on food stamps for example to
11:27increase their base pay for
11:29food stamps for example to
11:30increase their base pay for
11:32food stamps for example to
11:34increase their base pay for
11:36the entry-level men and women in
11:38uniform and all the branches of
11:40the military to make sure that
11:42we're focused properly on China
11:44and the threats that are posed
11:45all around the world look the
11:47world's a more dangerous place
11:48than it's ever been we saw that
11:49again this morning with the
11:51arrest of eight eight ISIS
11:54fighters here in the United
11:56States because Joe Biden opened
11:58up the southern border if
12:00anybody wondered and we've been
12:02saying this for years now that
12:05because Joe Biden opened up the
12:07border at some point our country
12:09will be at risk in our national
12:10security is undermined and it
12:12was pointed out yet again with
12:15eight ISIS fighters caught how
12:17many more terrorists are in our
12:20country because Joe Biden opened
12:22up the southern border
12:24prepositioned in cities around
12:25this country getting ready to do
12:27us harm so it just goes to show
12:30you the world is a very
12:31dangerous place we need to make
12:33sure we have the tools we also
12:35ought to be working with the
12:36president to secure our southern
12:38border but the president doesn't
12:39want to secure the border in fact
12:41under his own executive order
12:42he's going to let another million
12:44people in a year without ending
12:46the policies that are drawing
12:48people here illegally we passed
12:50a bill HR to that would fix this
12:52problem and Joe Biden still to
12:54this day opposes that bill after
12:57eight ISIS terrorists were
12:59captured in America Joe Biden
13:00still opposes the bill that would
13:03secure America's southern border
13:05now it's very clear he does not
13:06want to solve the problem you
13:08know somebody is that does want
13:09to solve the problem that's
13:10Donald Trump President Trump had
13:12a secure border he's going to be
13:14here tomorrow and I'm sure we're
13:15going to hear about some of those
13:17things that we're all trying to
13:18work on together to get our
13:20economy back on track to secure
13:22our border to make sure our
13:24military is focused on the things
13:26that need to be done to get this
13:28country back on track so we're
13:30going to continue working to
13:31address these problems I will
13:34finish with this you know we had
13:36an opportunity a few about 60
13:38house members over the last week
13:40to go to Normandy and pay tribute
13:42to the brave brave heroes who
13:45stormed the beaches of Normandy
13:47so many lost their lives that day
13:49and you can see the cost of our
13:51freedom when you're on that beach
13:52and you see the grave sites but
13:54we also got to see something that
13:56was incredibly inspiring that was
13:58about a hundred and thirty five
13:59of those men who are still alive
14:01who came back to Normandy and you
14:04want to talk about a special
14:05moment to be able to meet and
14:07greet and thank those hundred and
14:09thirty five brave men for their
14:11service and some of them were in
14:13their hundreds the youngest one I
14:14met was 97 years old and they all
14:16were recounting stories of that
14:19day and then the French President
14:20President Macron went one by one
14:23he selected a few of them to give
14:25the the Chevalier de Legionnaire
14:27one of the France's highest awards
14:29to a number of those brave heroes
14:31and he cited the things that they
14:33did and again these are American
14:34heroes who went to another country
14:36not to conquer but to liberate to
14:39restore freedom to the French
14:40people who were under Nazi regime
14:42and and he pinned each one of them
14:44individually and to see they were
14:46all in wheelchairs and to see them
14:47get out of their wheelchair because
14:50of the pride they did not want to
14:51sit down while the French President
14:53was presenting those medals and it
14:55just it just showed you why they're
14:56called the greatest generation and it
14:58was it was an unbelievably moving
15:00moment and I know we have a lot of
15:02things around here that we we talk
15:04about the battles and the fights
15:05amongst ourselves but that was a time
15:07where the country came together and
15:08and people did extraordinary things
15:10and it just proves America can do
15:12those kind of things when we put our
15:14minds to it hope you all come out to
15:16the baseball game tonight the
15:17Republicans play the Democrats we have
15:19over 25,000 tickets sold and
15:22exceeding the record over two million
15:24dollars raised for local charities a
15:26lot of local youth groups will benefit
15:27where they're reigning champs and we
15:29want to continue to hold that mantle
15:31but you're going to see a spirit of
15:33competition tonight hope to see all
15:35there I know somebody will be out there
15:36because he was at practice this morning
15:38was our speaker Mike Johnson thank you
15:43Mr. leader and thanks all of you for
15:45being here this morning there's a
15:46central theme and what you've heard
15:47this morning a couple of themes but one
15:50of them of course is the security of
15:52America and I just want to begin where
15:56the leader was was talking about the
15:59the border the the Biden border
16:01catastrophe continues in spite of his
16:03his window dressing of the executive
16:05order nothing's changed of course in
16:08fact many have argued that this
16:10increased the incentives for people to
16:12try to come and and you know avail
16:15themselves of the welcome mat that the
16:17Biden administration has put forward
16:19and you saw and you heard that eight
16:21Isis affiliated persons have been
16:24apprehended the open border has
16:26welcomed many dangerous people and none
16:29of us none of us knows exactly how many
16:31of them are here may have set up
16:33terrorist cells in America because the
16:35border has been wide open for three and
16:37a half years as we've recounted here
16:39every week upon week upon week we're
16:41demanding actual executive action from
16:44the president and he is unwilling to
16:46provide it and so Americans are in
16:48danger because of that they're in
16:50danger for lots of reasons and that's
16:52why the NDAA this week is so important
16:54and you've heard a lot of discussion
16:56about that I want to thank Chairman
16:58Rogers Chairman Burgess of the House
17:00Armed Services Committee and the Rules
17:02Committee who did heavy lifts to get
17:04this bill prepared for floor action and
17:06the Armed Services Committee that did
17:08extraordinary work this is an important
17:10bill because it's going to support our
17:12brave service members and it will do a
17:14number of things and will ensure that
17:16our men and women in uniform can enjoy
17:18a high quality of life as you've heard
17:20recounted here and and also the NDAA
17:22will restore the focus of our military
17:25on lethality that's what the military
17:27is about it will strengthen our defense
17:29industrial base it will deploy
17:31innovative wartime technologies for the
17:3321st century and support the National
17:35Guard to intercept drugs and illegal
17:38aliens at the border right now we're
17:40working through amendments and looking
17:42forward to bringing that bill forward
17:44with broad support and they're about
17:46350 amendments that Congress will be
17:48working through and that will happen
17:50over the next couple of days in the
17:52midst of all the other activity here I
17:54want to just say a quick word about the
17:56Israeli hostage rescue we've not had a
17:58press conference since that occurred
18:00and the DC protests that go right along
18:02with that over the weekend members of
18:04the IDF showed heroism and intact and
18:07bravery and they rescued four Israelis
18:09who are being held hostage in Gaza as
18:11we all know we of course rejoice that
18:13they're safely home and we continue to
18:15push for the release of all hostages
18:17including the Americans who are still
18:19being held outside a New York Memorial
18:21for October 7th victims shamefully
18:24protesters chanted long live the
18:26Intifada and outside the White House
18:28vandals and aspiring apparently
18:31aspiring Hamas members chanted Hezbollah
18:34Hezbollah and quote kill another Zionist
18:37now yeah that happened in Lafayette Park
18:39plain and simple it's dangerous behavior
18:41and it's disgusting that the Metro PD
18:44didn't arrest anyone on Sunday we're
18:47talking about another theme and that is
18:49the administration of justice in this
18:51country and the contempt of Merrick
18:52Garland is a very important principle
18:54here this week on the House floor as you
18:56heard Chairman Jordan and and our leader
18:58and our whip discussed will be holding
19:00Attorney General Garland in contempt of
19:02Congress he is refusing to
19:04comply with a lawful subpoena and that's
19:07a problem under Article 1 we have to
19:09defend the Constitution we have to
19:11defend the authority of Congress we
19:13can't allow the Department of Justice
19:14an executive branch agency to hide
19:16information from Congress we have
19:18important oversight responsibilities
19:20and that is what is being pursued here
19:22as you heard Chairman Jordan say we have
19:26oversight of special counsels as well
19:28and we have a right to know if Robert
19:30Herr's recommendation against
19:31prosecuting President Biden was
19:33warranted and the best evidence as as
19:35Chairman Jordan said was the audio
19:37recordings because they provide critical
19:39insight and what that transcript that
19:42itself cannot provide we have to know
19:44if the transcript is accurate and as a
19:46former litigator I can tell you and
19:48many of us know intuitively that when
19:49you have a printed transcript that
19:51someone transcribed you don't know with
19:54100% certainty whether it actually
19:57lines up with the audio recording and
19:59that's why this is so important the
20:01Attorney General doesn't get to decide
20:03whether he hides the tape and that's
20:05what will be determined here I do want
20:08to there's a couple of things else that
20:11we wanted to talk about this morning
20:12but I'll save it for questions I can
20:14anticipate what some of them will be I
20:16do want to say though on a brighter
20:17note at the baseball field this morning
20:19Republicans and Democrats out there in
20:21a great spirit the weather is beautiful
20:23tonight will be a great game you should
20:24come out two million dollars in excess
20:26of two million dollars to be raised for
20:27charity and it's something that unites
20:29everybody for at least for one night of
20:31the year so we certainly encourage you
20:33to come out it'd be about some by some
20:35estimates about 27,000 people that
20:37watch that game tonight so it'd be a
20:38lot of fun with that will yield to
20:40question two quick questions for you
20:43thank you first question how confident
20:45are you that this vote to hold garland
20:47and contempt will pass and also some
20:49Republicans are pushing for legislation
20:51that would allow current and former
20:53presidents to move a state case to
20:55federal courts do you believe that
20:57legislation is necessary would you put
20:59that on the floor for a vote yeah we're
21:01working through with members bringing
21:03that to the floor I'll address them in
21:05reverse order I think it's an important
21:07principle it currently that is the rule
21:09for members of Congress if you're sued
21:11you can transfer it to federal court it
21:13seems to make a lot of sense again we're
21:15trying to preserve the integrity of the
21:17justice system and we've seen some of
21:19these local and state prosecutors abuse
21:21that system we've talked about it here
21:23many times I won't recount all of it
21:25again but I think that's a an idea that
21:27makes sense it makes sense to most
21:29Republicans and I think all almost
21:31everyone will be in favor of that and
21:33that's what we're talking about and
21:35trying to move some of this forward to
21:37address the two-tiered system of justice
21:39in this country as we've talked about we
21:41basically have a three-pronged approach
21:43we're of course aggressively pursuing
21:45the oversight responsibility that we
21:47have we've talked about this morning we
21:49are looking at other legislation and of
21:51course we have the appropriations and
21:53we're going to utilize every tool that
21:55we have in our arsenal because we're
21:57required to do so under the Constitution
21:59and I think that's a part of it and in
22:01pursuit of that I do think the contempt
22:03of Merrick Garland will will pass on the
22:05floor and we're anxious to have that
22:07I'm just wondering with Trump coming
22:09tomorrow what do you anticipate if he
22:11does win in November about his
22:13relationship with congressional
22:15Republicans do you think it'll be
22:17similar to his first term or do you
22:19think you'll see more involvement more
22:21coordination more receptivity on this
22:23end yeah I look I think it's important
22:25for the country to have us to have
22:27close coordination I said many times I
22:29believe President Trump in his second
22:31term which I believe he'll have can be
22:33the most consequential president of the
22:35modern era because we have to fix
22:37every area of public policy the Biden
22:39administration has made a disaster of
22:41almost every area which is why the
22:43polling is is so in favor of the
22:45president President Trump right now and
22:47I think when he comes in we've got to
22:49have a very aggressive first 100 days
22:51agenda the first year will be important
22:53I think we cannot waste a moment
22:55because there's so many things to do so
22:57in light of that we're having
22:59discussions with he and his team now and
23:01amongst ourselves to plan accordingly
23:03you don't put the cart before the horse
23:05but you do have to be prepared to lead
23:07and we're going to be prepared and I
23:09can't wait for that eventuality to come
23:11forward if you look at the latest
23:13polling everyone almost everyone now is
23:15projecting that the Republicans will
23:17retake the Senate that we will grow the
23:19House majority and they will have the
23:21White House as well and when you have
23:23unified government like that it comes
23:25with great responsibility and we look
23:27forward to those days and fixing lots
23:29and lots of things so yeah
23:31coordination is important third row yes
23:33sir I think Chip Roy Bob got a couple
23:35other conservatives have raised the
23:37issue that we are ahead of funding
23:39deadlines in October have you discussed
23:41that possibility with president where
23:43do you stand on that possibility we're
23:45talking about that and a number of
23:47possibilities there are pros and cons
23:49to all these approaches I mean one of
23:51the the initial concerns would be if
23:53you put that into let's say the spring
23:55of next year that would encumber the
23:57calendar a little bit if we're having to
23:59deal with appropriations in that first
24:01hundred days when we have all these
24:03other things that we want to be doing
24:05so we're trying to balance all those
24:07things and figure out what is the most
24:09responsible thing for the country
24:11fiscally responsible and and by policy
24:13as well so there's lots of thoughtful
24:15discussion going on very productive
24:17discussion going on on our side on what
24:19we'll ultimately do on that but we'll
24:21keep you posted yes you and leader
24:23Scalise talked about the importance of
24:25Merrick Garland complying with a
24:27congressional subpoena I'm curious
24:29since Chairman Jordan and four other
24:31colleagues declined to do that under
24:33the January 6th committee if you worry
24:35that undermines the argument at all oh
24:37we'll hear more about that in the
24:39coming weeks there's been a lot of
24:41investigation about that committee I
24:43don't think it was properly constituted
24:45I don't think it was it was properly
24:47administered and now we know that
24:49apparently some of the evidence was
24:51hidden and some maybe even destroyed so
24:53you'll see you'll hear much more about
24:55that in the days ahead you talk about
24:57apples to oranges there couldn't be a
24:59more clear contrast between that and
25:01what we're talking about here this is
25:03this is the Judiciary Committee this is
25:05the weaponization committee these are
25:07the people who under Jordan's leadership
25:09have done extraordinary work
25:11methodically constitutionally
25:13appropriately and now we come to this
25:15impasse with the Attorney General
25:17himself who refuses to comply look this
25:19is an article one issue we've got to
25:21get it covered well and I think we will
25:23and I think that's why this contempt
25:25will pass on the floor so one last
25:27question very bad thank you Mr. Speaker
25:30back to former President Trump and
25:32with his arrival here you know near the
25:34Capitol really for the first time
25:36both the House and Senate meeting with
25:38him since the January 6th attack on the
25:41Capitol are you committed or have you
25:44spoken to him about basically not not
25:47doing anything like that again and
25:49committing to respecting the sort of
25:53American tradition of a peaceful
25:55transfer of course he respects that and
25:58we all do and we've all talked about it
26:00ad nauseum we're excited to welcome the
26:02President Trump back he'll be meeting
26:04with the Senate Republicans of course
26:06after he has a breakfast with us and
26:08there's high anticipation here and
26:10great excitement and I feel look we feel
26:12that as I've mentioned I've been all
26:13across the country crisscrossing the
26:15country and all the districts of all
26:16these campaigns and there's a real
26:18energy in the base right now and a real
26:20energy among the American people they
26:21know that change is coming it can't get
26:23here soon enough November cannot get
26:25here soon enough but we're anxious to
26:27talk about that and and and I guess
26:30bounce around ideas with the President
26:32tomorrow looking forward to welcoming
26:34him right after the Congressional
26:35baseball game it's a big week here and
26:37lots of good feeling so with that we'll
26:39leave you all thanks so much for being
26:40here