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Matt Gaetz.
- Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia didn't hesitate to throw shade at Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz's DUI record during a Thursday impeachment hearing.
- Gaetz began by going on a lengthy rant about Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, and mentioned the younger Biden's history of substance abuse.
- When Gaetz was finished, Johnson pulled no punches and appeared to make a veiled reference to Gaetz's 2008 arrest on charges of driving under the influence on his way back from Swamp, a nightclub in Florida.
- "The pot calling the kettle black is not something that we should do," Johnson said as laughter rippled through the hearing room. "I don't know what members, if any, have had any problems with substance abuse and been busted in DUI, I don't know. But if I did, I wouldn't raise it against anyone on this committee."
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Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia didn't hesitate to throw shade at Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida after Gaetz called out Hunter Biden for his history of substance abuse during Thursday's impeachment hearing.
Gaetz began by going on a lengthy rant about Biden's role as a board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company.
The Florida congressman went on to say that he went online to find out more about Biden and came across a New Yorker profile of him which described an incident in which Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, got into a car accident and allegedly had a crack pipe in the car, as well as a line of white powder residue on one of the consoles.
Gaetz described how Hertz, the rental car company that owned the vehicle Hunter Biden was driving that night, reportedly called the police department and officers filed a narcotics offense report that listed items seized from the car, "including a plastic bag containing white powdery substance, a Secret Service business card, credit cards, and Hunter Biden's driver's license," Gaetz said, quoting from the profile.
"This is what we would call evidence," Gaetz continued. "And I don't want to make light of anybody's substance abuse issues - I know the president's working real hard to solve those throughout the country - but it's a little hard to believe that Burisma hired Hunter Biden to resolve their international disputes when he could not resolve his own dispute with Hertz rental cars over leaving cocaine and a crack pipe in the car."
When Gaetz finished speaking, Johnson pulled no punches and appeared to make a veiled reference to Gaetz's 2008 arrest on charges of driving under the influence on his way back from Swamp, a nightclub in Florida.
Speaking to the hearing room, Johnson said, "The pot calling the kettle black is not something that we should do," as laughter rippled through the room.
"I don't know what members, if any, have had any problems with substance abuse and been busted in DUI, I don't know," Johnson added. "But if I did, I wouldn't raise it against anyone on this committee."
As Gaetz looked on, Johnson said, "I don't think it's proper."
The back-and-forth came as part of a House Judiciary Committee hearing debating two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
Trump is accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress connected to his efforts to strongarm Ukraine into interfering in the 2020 election while withholding vital military aid and a White House meeting.
The Democratic-controlled committee and House of Representatives are expected to pass the articles. If Trump is impeached, the process will move to the US Senate, which will conduct a trial. The Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, is unlikely to convict the president and remove him from office.
!!! After @mattgaetz brings up Hunter Biden's drug problems, @RepHankJohnson alludes to Gaetz's DUI and says, "the pot calling the kettle black is not something we should do. I don't know which members, if any ... have been busted in DUI. But if I did, I wouldn't raise it." pic.twitter.com/fHgxNUQ0Tg
- Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 12, 2019