U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) charges that President Biden’s advanced age is “projecting weakness on the world stage.” Johnson referenced a Wall Street Journal front page story from June 24, headlined "Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping."
On his weekly Salem Radio Network program THIS WEEK ON THE HILL (10am ET on Salem News Channel and radio affiliates), Johnson cited a one-on-one meeting he had with Biden in the Oval Office discussing the President’s executive order halting America’s exporting Liquid Natural Gas. Biden allegedly could not remember signing that order, and suggested Johnson was mistaken.
“It’s quite obvious to everyone that he (Biden) is not on his A game. I’ll say that charitably. He intimated to me that he didn’t quite understand what he had signed,” Johnson declared on his Salem talk show. The Speaker added, “The President tried to argue with me and tell me he didn’t do that when clearly he did.”
To dispel any notion that he—Johnson—misunderstood the situation, he declared: “If anybody disputes the account of that, I will submit to a polygraph because I know exactly how that conversation went down. I’m telling the truth about that, and I take no pleasure in that because we’re projecting weakness on the worlds stage.”
As Executive Producer of THIS WEEK ON THE HILL, I found Johnson’s offer to be stunning. I’ve been covered national politics for over four decades, and I cannot recall a Congressional leader ever offering to take a lie detector to settle a dispute with an incumbent President of the United States. It tells something about Mike Johnson’s character that he refuses to back down even as White House aides and Biden campaign spokespeople attempt to project Joe Biden as a sharp and vigorous leader.
Johnson’s concerns over the Biden LNG policy change are focused solely on national security issues. “It’s had a terrible effect on the country, our security, our economy… and it’s fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine because Europe has to get their gas from him instead of from us,” he contends.
Biden’s Attorney General also came under fire on THIS WEEK ON THE HILL, as House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) zeroed-in on Merrick Garland stonewalling his committee’s demand for audio tapes relating to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation of President Joe Biden's "willful" mishandling of classified documents. Jordan wants the audio recordings of interviews with President Biden, and told Garland if the DOJ continues to withhold additional material in defiance of the Committees' subpoenas, he’ll consider taking further action including invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings.
Garland bristled at that suggestion, saying he will not be “intimidated” by Congress. TWOTH host Tony Perkins asked Jim Jordan if the stalemate continues, could Congress order the arrest of the Attorney General. Jordan replied that “100 years ago the Sergeant At Arms might have done that,” but he said in 2024 if necessary he’ll take Garland to court.
Mike Johnson also announced this week that his invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—reluctantly co-signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)—has now been accepted. Netanyahu will appear at the Capitol on July 24th to formally report on Israel’s war with Hamas. Observers anticipate some Democrats will boycott the address, while others may opt to participate in pro-Hamas demonstrations outside the House and Senate during Netanyahu’s remarks.
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