Johnson on House Initiating Formal Impeachment Inquiry into President Trump

(TRENTON) – Supporting the announcement Tuesday that the House of Representatives will be launching a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump, Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen) released the following statement:

“President Trump believed releasing the transcript of his July phone conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky would prove to be exculpatory, but on the contrary it only raised further questions and concerns. I am, in no uncertain terms, behind the House of Representatives in their decision to move forward with a formal impeachment inquiry.

“Trump’s request for the Ukraine to produce dirt on former Vice President and presidential candidate Joe Biden was an abuse of power, particularly if he withheld foreign aid. Leveraging his office against a political opponent for his own best interests, not those of the United States and the American people, is a breach of his constitutional responsibility.

“Allowing the highest office in the country to go unchecked like this is dangerous for the future of our democracy. We cannot afford to be by-standers to this endless continuum of self-serving behavior. Our country and national security are reliant on a commander-in-chief able to put national interests far above their own.”