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we have to do it methodically. our three committees of jurisdiction have been doing an extraordinary job following the evidence where it leads. now we are being stonewalled by the white house, because they are preventing at least two to three doj witnesses coming forward. the national archives, the white house has withheld thousands of pages of evidence. a formal impeachment inquiry vote on the floor will allow us to take it to the next step. host: speaker mike don's and get that is from fox and friends saturday. on sunday, the chairman of one of the committees leading the probe into joe biden and the biden family so far is james comer, the kentucky republican. he was speaking on fox news, also asked about a formal impeachment vote. [video clip] >> i do not understand why you have had to take so long to actually that a vote to impeach, get this impeachment inquiry going. do you feel you have the votes

in the house right now to get a formal impeachment inquiry? >> i do. i had a reporter asked what has changed? because the press has been writing that we did not have the votes forever. one thing that changed as we were in washington, d.c. for 10 weeks and there were about 15 moderates who worried about what cnn writes, and they were getting in their head. but a great thing happened during thanksgiving. the members went home, many of them for the first time, circulated for the first time in over 10 weeks. they met people in walmart and on main street, and they were like, what in the world have the bidens done to receive millions of dollars from our enemies around the world, and they did not pay taxes on it? they heard from their constituents. we want to know the truth, and we expect the bidens to be held accountable for public corruption. we are unified at a time when

our conference is broken in a number of ways. the members heard from constituents back home. they have confidence in the credibility of our investigation and the mountain of evidence we have accumulated. host: congressman james comer, the chairman of the oversight committee, yesterday on fox news. also yesterday, robert garcia, also a member of the oversight committee, a democrat from california, asking why republicans want to do this. [video clip] >> there is no evidence. we have made that clear over and over. all the evidence republicans tried to bring forward are essentially discredited rudy giuliani conspiracy theories. this is a tinfoil hat committee with zero evidence. host: asking you this morning on "washington journal," should the household a formal impeachment

inquiry vote on the house floor? it is a tight margin between democrats and republicans right now, but speaker mike johnson says he has of the votes to formally authorize impeachment. these inquiries have been going on since some timbre here this would be a formal authorization, adding some legal have to behind some of these inquiries. (202) 748-8001 for republicans to call in. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. independents, it is (202) 748-8002. a few of your comments from social media alrdy this is a martin, writing in that the house did impeach the guy everyone -- this is steveg absolutely. we have a corrupt, dishonest president. he has been living off political kickbacks for years. time to send him and his this functional family packing good one more from tom saying it

would probably fail, though who cares? they keep embarrassing themselves on this issue anyway. if you have your comments in our facebook conversation already. you can also look for us on x and sent us a text as well, (202) 748-8003. or call, like jim did out of florida, republican. caller: are you ready for a scoop? host: go ahead. caller: i think the republicans are going to do the democrats a favor. regardless of how many votes it takes in the congress to get this impeachment going, if democrats have to throw in extra votes, they will get it going, because they will want to have that and the leaders of the democratic party are going to go to the president and say, you should think about retiring, because your health and all of that. and really, you're becoming a drag on the party, and you need to retire. and if you don't, we are

probably going to get enough votes for the impeachment from our side, from the democratic side, to impeach you, and i do not think you want to go out that way. i think they will use it as leverage against the president. the democrats are going to use as leverage against the president to get him to not run for another term. i believe the republicans are going to help them in that matter. host: and you think another democratic candidate could beat the likely republican nominee? caller: i think it is pretty obvious that the democrats do not want biden to run for another term. this is their avenue to tell him, you know, we do not want to do this, but we have to. we are going to get enough votes, the 60 votes to impeach you. you don't want to be impeached, just retire, tell them you will

not run again, and a lot of this will go away for you. they have a lot of things against you. it will melt like snow on a hot summer day. i believe that is what is going to happen. in a way, the republicans are doing the democrats a favor by impeaching him. and then the democrats are going to pick up on it, and they will go to him and say just retire. and that way, there will not be any scandal on you, anything like that. because if you do not, i think for the betterment of the party, we will get the 60 votes to impeach you, so we can get another candidate. host: got your point here that is jim in florida. this is john out of florida, independent. good morning, you are up. caller: yeah, i think they should go on with the impeachment of biden. he has committed treason, in my

eyes. being a vietnam combat that --vet -- being a vietnam combat vet and knowing his background, who he is listening to, obama -- key needs to go to prison. his son, his brother. anyone who receives money from foreign countries needs to go to prison, on both sides of the aisle. this congress, on both sides, is destroying this country. gavin newsom buys chinese flags in san francisco. host: this is horace out of philadelphia, democrat. what are your thoughts about a formal vote on the house floor for impeachment? horace, are you with us? caller: yes, can you hear me? host: yes, sir. what do you think?

caller: i think it is a doggone shame that the republicans ain't got nothing better to do then mess with a president who is doing his very best to take care of all kinds of situations, especially with the hamas and israeli war and stuff. and going off on this man who is doing his best to take care of this country and foreign policy, and he has to worry about some foolish probably kids trying to impeachment -- impeach him because of donald trump, who was impeached twice. i think it is a waste of time, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. you have a good day, my friend. host: that is horace. again, these impeachment probes by multiple house committees,

the most high-profile one being the oversight committee, have been going on for months now. this would be a formal vote on the house floor to authorize these investigations. the wall street journal today with an explanation of what that would mean, why that would matter. they write impeachment infestations improve the likelihood that a court would authorize access to grand jury materials and boost the chances of overcoming assertions of executive privilege, according to a 2019 report by the congressional research service. there is disagreement about whether a formal house vote is needed to authorize an impeachment probe. such a move helps remove legal ambiguity. the exultation from the wall street journal. from the white house from late last week, as this was being discussed, a memo on how much of the biden administration has cooperated with these impeachment inquiries. they call these inquiries a fishing expedition and

illegitimate. they note how should republicans have thousands of pages of witness testimony. axios writing about what was in this memo, noting republicans had access to more than 35,000 pages of private financial records, more than 2000 pages of financial reports from the treasury department, at least 36 hours of witness interviews and testimony, and documents, including highly sensitive materials, and witnesses from the fbi and the national archives. republicans saying it is not enough, and they believe this impeachment inquiry would shake loose, perhaps, more documents and perhaps more witnesses as well. getting your thoughts. should the household formal impeachment inquiry vote? mary jo out of maryland, what you think? caller: i think they are well warranted. biden has been corrupt his whole

time in the government and in politics. lied, plagiarized, and he just gets away with it, so he keeps doing it. they can always find something and a way to prosecute donald trump, why is it so hard to do with biden, with all he has done? host: this is gordon out of michigan, line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm on? host: yes, sir. what do you think? caller: this is a big circus, how this keeps going on, it is incredible. -- i listen to the man. once he said, you know, that was enough. the tapes on the bus, whatever -- what do i tell my daughter? when i told that two people,

what do i tell my daughter after that incident -- this just goes on, it is a big circus. how can they have any credibility going forward if this is the evidence they are going to impeach someone? thank you very much. you guys do a great service. america, wake up. host: dave out of maryland, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. this ignorant republican party, last time they tried to do this impeachment inquiry, their own speaker, kevin mccarthy, got fired. so now they're going to go back to waste some more time, and they do not realize that they are going to lose the house of representatives pretty soon. and even though they are in power, really, the democrats run the show. there is no reason to really go after the president.

he is doing a good job, considering the circumstances. biden has publicly said he has come out to do his testimony. host: you think the reason that kevin mccarthy is no longer speaker is because of the impeachment inquiries? because some of those who are most critical of him and leading the push to oust him from the speakership were saying he was not moving fast enough on impeachment. caller: you know, 24 hours before a shut down, he did not have the key leadership skills to say no, i will not do this and focus on avoiding the shutdown. yes. these ignorant republicans, that is what they are doing. again, wasting their time, instead of pushing the israel funding through, they -- we have

serious issues that need to be dealt with. they will do this foolish circus, and they are not going to succeed. it is a mockery of politics. it is how ignorant and foolish they are. host: more discussion on impeachment from yesterday's "meet the press." florida governor ron desantis being asked about it yesterday. [video clip] >> speaker mike johnson says he believes he has the votes to open an impeachment inquiry into president biden and that he has a duty to hold such a vote. do you think republicans run the risk of having that move potentially backfire and emboldening president biden as he heads into a reelection year, if they moved to impeach him? >> here's what i think. i think the biden family, the amount of money that has flowed

into that family, to me, is corrupt. it has not been explained in ways that make any sense, so opening an inquiry based on the fact that we have i think would be justifiable. however, they run the risk of doing an inquiry that does not necessarily lead anywhere while they have been ignoring a lot of the problems that our voters are talking about. when i am going through iowa, republican voters obviously are not fond about joe biden. yes, they are concerned about hunter and all this money. but they are more concerned about what is happening on our border. they are more concerned about what is happening with the economy. they are more concerned about federal agencies overstepping their bounds. if you are doing the inquiry, which, again, i think is justifiable, you also have to address all these other issues. there is a feeling out here they are not focused on the key issues they wanted to see addressed. clearly, on the budget, there has been no progress on that. make sure you're not ignoring all these other issues, and do not use that inquiry as kind of

a trojan horse to not meet your responsibilities on all these other things. host: senator ron desantis on "meet the press" yesterday. back to your calls, asking should the household and impeachment inquiry vote on the house floor? this is betty, a republican in south carolina. good morning. caller: yes, they should have him. look at all he has done. i do not see why all these people does not see -- like that man from pennsylvania. i do not understand him. they need to clean that whole -- he is supposed to be doing what we say, and he gets by with everything. i mean everything. i've never seen the like in my life.

and just keep on letting him stay in there, and he will do more, and this world will come to an end, if he stays in there. host: this is leslie in north carolina, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. to that woman in south carolina, i would say the same thing about trump. trump -- if trump is allowed to get back in there, he will take over. they keep going after joe biden, go after hunter biden. hunter said i will testify. with trump, he did not want to come testify. what you want from the democrats? joe biden has done a real good job. he has done a great job.

inflation is down, the economy is doing well. as far as the border, both republicans and democrats have to come together on the border. i am a democrat, and i still have problems with immigration and how it is a mess. i just do not like i could ever vote republican because of donald trump. i would vote -- host: does it say some thing about our politics today that the caller before you was talking end times if joe biden stays in office, and you are talking it is the end times for the world if donald trump comes back into office? caller: yes. yes, that is true. host: what does it say about the state of our politics, that it is and m times one way or the other? caller: the politics of america right now is in great peril, either democrats or republicans. like i say, donald trump is

about authoritarianism, he wants to be the one true leader of america. you've the whole family lined up when donald trump dies, his successor. we don't need a napoleon or hitler leader, we don't need that in america. we areha going to go for years d we are going to vote. another four years and we shouldn't go back to being kingi or queens on the. >> north carolina, hunter biden and his testimony before the house oversight committee. hunter biden is good for public testimony, hunter biden is big

for being rejected, private deposition first to explain that and the difference how the process what happens behind closed doors. here is what she had to say. >> help me understand that impeachment process and deposing hunter biden. i think it's something the american people would love to see happen and see it take place. that's what hunter biden wants as well to have it open but there is desire among republicans to start the process behind those doors. why? >> it is important to get deposition, it's different than open hearing. ... public press opportunity for the democrats to politicize. we want to go at this from a legal and factual perspective,

and the only way to do this is through a deposition. this is what democrats said when they refused and open hearing. so now there trying to make a counter argument they are saying witnesses should have a deposition so it is unacceptable hunter biden attorney said he just wanted to do an open hearing. the onlyid correct response is a deposition. >> host: elise stefanik from saturday talking to you this morning monday morning on the "washington journal" about it from a peak report on the house floor. do you think that should take place when it comes with to impeachment inquiry into president joe biden? john in massachusetts independent good morning. >> caller: they don't need a good because the same thing with democrats -- the that democrats called up i guess you just cracked the thing about comber not one testimony from hunter biden so thank you. during, by considering covid big

big one they impeached trump twice. they are running well. explain all the llcs. explain all the whistleblowers. they are cooperating? yeah, sure. they're stonewalling every turn with the record. six appropriation bills have been passed by the congress is i don't understand why you're saying there's nothing getting done there. there were no wars and a good economy under president trump. i just find it hilarious. they have pretty, ignorant -- ignored the whole time. the democrats a call in are very ignorant. they say all the christians, the christians we want to not have abortions because not true. site said it is a life. shows brain activity how would you suck people are dead. nobody wants to believe the polls but president biden but they want to be the polls about people like abortion and all that other stuff. get serious and stop being so parcel and thank you for

correcting the ignorant democrats that call and. >> host: john in massachusetts on president xi's "new york times" with the stewart back from september when then speaker kevin mccarthy authorize the committee to move forward but didn't hold a formal vote on the senate floor, or on house for excuse me. as justification he pointed to the actions of former speaker nancy pelosi who announced the formal impeachment inquiry against then president trump in 2019, fivere weeks before the house voted to authorize a formal impeachment probe, to have that vote on the house for vicki said that set a precedent that he was following. more from the stewart in "new york times." rules withoutnt was due to begin impeachment and history offers auclair guide. the house committee begin impeachment investigation into president richard nixon in october of 1973 didn't vote to ratify ar formal inquiry into february 1974.

in 1998 house votes open-end impeachment inquiry into president bill clinton. in 2021 house impeached mr. trump a second time with no inquiry at all. so no set rules on this, but there has been a push to hold a formal vote on the house floor. republicans say that would shake loose more witnesses, perhaps more documents can did more legal test to the impeachment process. david is in denison texas, republican. what do you think? what do you think, david? try to get david we will go -- go head. >> caller: can you make? >> host: yes, sir, i said i think absolutely should formalize it. they spent months on top of months documenting and compiling tons of evidence ofto what's ben going on. yesterday desantis interview on "meet the press", i'm a big

desantis of order, i like what he's done a lot but that was the most political statement he has made and i went to vote for him if he's the last man on earth right now. he's just trying to prevent more evidence coming out that shows how and why donald trump is acted the way he acted. the durham report shows brennan revealed to obama, biden and call me at admitting that 2017 that the dossier was most likely the result of hillary clinton's efforts to divert the attention from her e-mail problems. and they knew about this come tons of evidence, all kind of reports have shown clearly that they knew the whole thing was a hoax before they even got started with it. sohe my point is that iran for example, 3.5 million barrels of oil. i think what he's doing not responding to the arena, not responding to the china threat, not respond to all these things because he's compromised.

iran was pumping 200,000 barrels of oil a day when trump left office. now it's 3.5 million. biden needs to your oil on te market to keepp the price of gas down. he doesn't do anything to stop politically motivated. there's so much -- people keep saying it's going to be the end of the world if trump as mentioned a few month ago, end of the world of trump comes back in office. he was in office four years -- for four years. did the worldst , are you still with us? i think we lost the call. brendan in baton rouge, louisiana. go ahead. >> caller: i definitely don't think the republican should try to impeach president biden. i'm so happy that biden is in office now with what's going on in the w world. he's very respected by other leaders and knows what he should be doing, where as trump is so scary. the reason i called this morning is because it seems to be mostly

republicans calling in at if you like some democrats should call. i don't feel like an -- but that's my opinion for sure. >> host: thanks for the call from louisiana. the caller from denison texas was talking about the various points of republican probes into the biden administration, the biden family. the "wall street journal" story today on this potential impeachment vote takes a look at another focal point for republicans involving to make transactions involving james and joe biden in the years immediately following joe biden's vice presidency, which house oversight committee chairman james comer has portrayed ass evidence that chia laundered money to biden through his brother. check to james bidn for "loan repayment." a year later, his sister wrote a

check with a similar -- as evidence joe biden lent his brother money and was then being paid back. but those transactions a focal point of their probes. this is mike in arizona, independent. go ahead. caller: hi. i just wanted to say it is entirely unsurprising how this is the topic of conversation right now while, right at this moment, there is a genocide happening that the white house and the entire state department apparatus is attempting to do everything they can to shield themselves from liability for the ongoing genocide in gaza by the israeli government right now. why? please tell me why this is the

topic of conversation right now and why this is what is so important in congress. host: why do you think it is important enough for the speaker of the house to talk about it happening sometime in the next week or so, saying he has the votes for this? and he is not a memory of the biden administration, he is the republican speaker. caller: i do not think it is important. this is entirely a way to distract everybody from what is actually happening around the world. this is what the state department apparatus is designed to do. this is not a conspiracy theory, this is literally what they are designed to do. host: and you think were republicans on capitol hill want to do that as well? caller: they want to opt to skate -- coffee skate -- o bfuscate as much as they can. i am saying this is not the topic of conversation that you, as "washington journal" should

cover right now. host: stick around. we will talk more about that in our next segment, talking about those eight packages working their way through capitol hill, eight packages to israel and ukraine. if you do not like this segment, stick around. there is plenty more to talk about today. this is john in ohio, republican. good morning. good morning. caller: good morning, how are you doing? host: doing well. go ahead. caller: i used to be a republican. i cannot believe that the people are doing this right now. the republicans are crazy. host: is that all you wanted to say? caller: i just cannot believe this situation we are in. it is just terrible. host: this is kathy in florida, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. this is kathy from the stupid s

tate. i just wanted to say that i think they should let it rip. let's put it all out there in the open, see what they have got. they have been wasting everybody's time so far with these hearings, but they do not show anything. they just stand and say whatever they feel like. some of it -- if they could sue, i am sure they would for slander. but i think putting ron desantis on -- it ruined my morning right off the bat. all these people say they want ron desantis, well, come on down to florida and find out. he does not do his job, but he sure has a lot to say about how everybody should do their job. he is busy putting his nose in everybody else's business, and he does not take care of the insurance problem here. he creates an educational problem here. he is banning books. he wants to -- host: are you done, kathy?

i think we lost kathy there -- caller: hello? host: finished your statement. caller: i do not know how much you hurt. but anyway, putting ron desantis on first thing in the morning, for me, ruins my day so far -- host: got your point. maybe you would prefer ted lieu, who expresses some of your same concerns. this is wednesday, the democrat from california speaking to reporters. here's what he had to say about republicans' impeachment inquiry. [video clip] >> i know i am out of date myself. but remember that wendy's commercial "where's the beef? " they show the sandwich, and the customer keeps saying, "where's ehe beef?" where's the evidence? republicans cannot show a shred of evidence. that is why there is no start. there should be no start at all, because there is no evidence. >> the house democratic caucus

chair is not endorsed wendy's or any chain restaurant. [laughter] host: ted lieu from last week on capitol hill. taking your phone calls. should the house hold a formal vote to open an impeachment inquiry? those inquiries have already been open, but this would be the formal vote on impeachment. speaker johnson saying he has the votes to do so ok getting your calls. on phone lines for republicans, democrats, and independents. vee in new jersey, democrat. go ahead. caller: good morning. this is where i am a little concerned. when nixon was impeached, it was because of watergate, which happened while he was in office. then, bill clinton was impeached, which happened while he was in office with monica. then, trump was impeached,

because a phonecall while he was in office. he was also impeached for insurrection while he was in office. where i am having a problem is that they are going back to things that joe biden did not do while he was president. please explain to me how all the other presidents did thing in -- did things in office. joe biden did not do anything as president that they have shown me so far. i do not understand. host: so you are in the same camp as ted lieu, where's the beef? caller: yes. host: howard in north carolina, independent. good morning. caller: top of the morning to you, c-span. this is a topic that should be

in the janitor's closet. the republicans are pulling straws to find anything on biden before this year is up. we already know that joe biden, his family, do not compare anything to donald trump -- you could see kushner received $2 billion. but not one republican -- and ivanka in china with a business -- you don't hear none of that. but right now, georgia bank is looking at -- showing they did not have anything to do with donald trump? so look, republicans. you can do anything you want you think will hurt biden in the

election. i will still vote for biden, because the biden and obama administration was uncorrupt. you doul -- you couldn't find nothing on them. but trump? people, get over hunter biden and $1 million. hunter biden and $1 million, and you all are crying. host: got your point. this is the headline from today's washington times. it is how we began our program today. it was speaker johnson who said on saturday he is set to move ahead with an impeachment inquiry vote, saying it could come sometime in the next week or so before members of congress leave capitol hill for the holidays and the end of the year, that story noting passing an impeachment inquiry on the house floor could be even more difficult now for speaker johnson following the expulsion of congressman george santos,

the new york republican, last week. it shrank the gop's majority to just four votes, making it tougher for house republicans to unite their fractured conference. taking your phone calls, asking you if there should be a formal vote on impeachment on the inquiry into impeachment on the house floor. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. democrats, it's (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. also looking for your texts and tweets. here is a few of those texts. this is bob in missouri, saying, no, this is jus like repeal and it will never happen. it is ing burger once again. anin oregon saying the full inveigion of corruption should take place on a number of democrats. this from texas -- i not recommend impeaching and yes, he's a crook and moron,

brooks says, vote him out and trump-ramaswamy is who he is supporting. these are a few of your texts. lines for democrats, republicans, and independents as usual. this is joanne in connecticut, go ahead. caller: yes, they should go with the impeachment inquiry. joe biden never thought he would be president, and he has how many shall companies? those are fictitious. they have bank records. thank -- bank records did not live. money went to his house, and his family got millions of dollars. why would the chinese government give a crackhead like hunter biden any money?

we are talking millions of dollars. because of influence. joe biden set up this scheme with the shell companies so no one would find out about it. the irs should be looking into them, because they do not pay taxes on that money they received when his son was getting money from our adversaries -- host: do you watch the impeachment hearings? caller: yes, i have. and they had the records. the money ran right through his house. his sister-in-law cut him a check for 10%. 10% for the big guy. who the hell is the bug guy? you have banks, auditors who looked through it, flagged his account, and did nothing because it was a biden. host: this is giovanni in missouri. good morning. caller: sir, i made a mistake. i meant to call for republicans

because i am a republican. host: all right. go ahead. try to keep to the lines that test describe you. but go ahead. caller: again, i apologize for that. for the people out there, i want them to understand something. what businesses, what product, what was joe biden and his family selling to receive all that money? if it was trump receiving all this money from all these other countries, and trump had no hotels, no products, he did not create anything, his family did not make clothes -- yes, his family has patents in china. they produce things in china. what does joe biden produce in china for receiving all that money? and let me ask you this real quick. do you remember the contact that joe biden got in iraq to rebuild

iraq? whatever happened with that money? why would dick cheney ever gave james biden a contract to help rebuild iraq? that is still, to my head, fuzzy. why would he do that? but my big question again is this -- what product? what was he selling? what was he doing to get money from 5, 6 countries that hate our guts. host: giovanni, a republican this morning. this is regis in pittsburgh. good morning. caller: good morning. what i am hearing from a lot of your callers is sort of like "everybody knows" rather than any solid evidence. there is absolutely nothing so far that connects joe biden with his son's activities. his son's activities do not have

anything to do with government. this is mostly an attempt to smear biden in the media. even the republican impeachment inquiries is not presenting anything solid. none of this would stand up in court. i do not understand why people are so ready to believe it, except for their own political prejudices. the stuff that trump is accused of is actual crime while in office. there is no such thing existing with biden. host: that is regis in pittsburgh. this is bob in minnesota, independent. good morning. caller: good morning. this is a big farce. what you're dealing with is a lot of lawyers making money doing inquiries into something that is not exist. as long as they keep on searching for something, they will keep on paying for it.

that is where all the money is going, to the lawyers. host: that is bob in minnesota. this is wendell in louisiana, good morning. republican. caller: yes. i am a 92-year-old voter. i think that biden is the most corrupt president we have ever had in this world. that is all i have to say. host: this is zachary, maryland, democrat. good morning. caller: hi. i just want to question c-span along the lines of the -- one of the previous caller's. why is this topic so important? why are you not discussing the genocide? host: the speaker of the house was talking about it over the weekend. members of congress -- caller: that is a distraction.

you always tried to distract us. you distract us by touching not a single problem that touches our lives. for example -- host: what are the problems affect our lives right now that you want congress to talk about? caller: let me just tell you. if you're old, elder care is a very important thing. if you are young and you have children, day care is a very important thing. if you are paying taxes, and you do not have any relief, housing is a very important thing. why are you not discussing these things? why are you discussing stupid things about things that will not happen. host: i promise you, we will discuss that -- caller: no, you have not -- host: and stick around, because we will be talking about a lot of these things. even in today's show as well, a look at the week ahead on capitol hill.

we always set time aside, almost every day on this program, for open phones to let you call in and let you lead the discussion. that is what that segment is four. tell us what you think is important. that is why we try to put in open phones nearly every day on this program. caller: yeah, but this is not an important topic. this is certainly not an important topic. host: at some point, you will probably find it an important topic down the road. it is a topic important enough that the speaker of the house is talking about it. but that is why we are talking about it. to your point on washington accomplishing -- solving problems, a compass and things, that was the point of the wall street journal today in their lead editorial on the op-ed pages of the wall street journal. can washington still do anything is the question they are specifically focusing here on border security and a ukraine-israel eight deal, calling it too important to

fail. this is the lead of the editorial board of the wall street journal. can the united states government still act to solve problems and eight allies in our national interest? it is hard to believe it has come to this, but that is the underlying question as biden and congress struggled to pass an aid bill. meanwhile, president biden asked congress for $106 billion in supplemental spending but needs republican votes to do it. republicans want to do something to stem the flood of migrants crossing the border, but they need democrats to pass it. the necessity for compromise is obvious, but americans polarized congress, and biden's political weakness made take the effort. again, their headline, can washington still do anything? marvin in tennessee, republican. you are next. caller: good morning to you. host: good morning. caller: i appreciate you

allowing americans to speak on this topic. should biden be impeached? i think the question should be that, if the application of this decision to impeach a president for infractions depends upon them committing crimes or things that are worthy of impeachment, such as if a former president, as someone mentioned earlier, were impeached for a particular fault based upon an investigation conducted, then i believe that whatever applies to warrant and impeachment should be followed -- to warrant an impeachment should be followed. if donald trump, the former president, was impeached several times face on evidence that, mind you, most of the evidence that was presented regarding against trump was found to be unfounded and fabricated, but

nothing was addressed regarding that, especially when it comes to hillary clinton and the dossier against donald trump, but nothing also followed up with that. however, with joe biden, the american public should allow whatever evidence that is supposed to be gathered to show that biden is guilty of these infractions. instead of saying he is not guilty, allow the evidence to be presented. if he is found realty of these infractions, he should be impeached. donald trump was saying, ok, the -- if the person is guilty, let the law applied to everybody the same way. i just think that americans are -- have blinded themselves or allowed themselves to be blinded by the media.

let the evidence be presented. host: this is lee in portland, maine, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i just wanted to set the record straight. they keep saying about where joe biden gets all this money. this is what they are trying to impeach him on come all this money. joe biden has written 64 books. donald trump has written no books. no publishing firm will accept him. they won't write a book for him -- host: there is a publishing firm that they trump family has been involved in, and the former president has written books, including some very well-known books. i do not know the number on joe biden's books, i will look it up. but for the money issue -- caller: i looked it up.

64 books he has written. and they wonder where he gets his money. people make big money writing books. hillary clinton, bill clinton -- donald trump, though, a reputable publishing firm will not accept him. i read that. because he will not tell the truth. host: did you ever read "the art of the deal"? caller: no, because i know it is lies. host: what is your favorite book that joe biden has written? caller: i have not read any of joe biden's books. i read hillary clinton and bill clinton's. i am just -- what i am trying to say is they wonder where people make their money. they make millions of dollars writing books. host: since we have you on the topic, who do you think has written the best book as a public official? somebody who has been in office? if you could recommend one of those books?

caller: colin powell. host: colin powell's book? (202) 748-8002 -- caller: yes, probably colin powell's. host: what was the name of the book? caller: i do not remember. i read that a while ago. i am 82, by the way, so my memory is not rate going back. host: was it the secret to leadership by colin powell? or was it it works for me? caller: his picture was on the cover of the book. i am not sure what the name of it was. i remember it was huge. a lot of pages in it. host: that could be a question for us down the road, what is the best political look out there. thanks for the idea. this is bill. good morning. caller: good morning.

as far as this impeachment vote -- everybody keeps saying no one is above the law. that goes on both sides of the political aisle. no one is above the law. you guys need to follow the facts as well. you guys used to be very biased. now you're just moderately biased. but please, open your eyes and see what is truly going on. and please start to understand what the millions of voters see in some of our -- host: this is truly in colorado. just about five minutes left in this first segment of "washington journal." caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: it is not that i am for or against impeaching the president. what i am against his them throwing the process of

impeachment around like a ragdoll. marjorie taylor greene introduced articles of impeachment before biden was even inaugurated. i feel they are doing trump's bidding, that he wants this because he was impeached. if there is viable, credible evidence, impeach him, by all means. but what they have shown so far is nothing. host: on marjorie taylor greene, ian sams, a spoke person for the administration and kind of a point person responding to these impeachment questions when it comes from congress, he tweeted just last night about marjorie taylor greene and impeachment, saying is, as a speaker johnson suggests, they are preparing a vote to ratify this impeachment inquiry, every house republican who supports it will be going on the record to do maor taylor greene's bidding. in sam's 8:21 p.m. last night on

twitter. this is eva in mississippi, good morning. caller: good morning. joe biden has screamed equality, equality, equality. now he is getting a taste of it. though it may be bitter, one day you will have to drink from it yourself. the chickens come home to roost. let him face things and explain everything in his family likely trumps have done. hold him accountable and let him explain. i want to hear him mumble his explanation. host: this is monique here in washington, d.c., democrat. time for just a couple more calls. caller: good morning. i just want to say, i am 48 years old, and all i hear calling and are like baby boomers. it is time for you guys to just

stop. you have already messed the country up for the next generation coming up. and i hear so much differences and so much anger and -- i am tired of it. the republican party, they are not doing any work in the house for the people. we have different states where gas prices are $4 a gallon for regular gas. and a majority of those states are red states. i heard the other day that where the crime rate is high and the murder capital is high, in the top states with the highest murder per capita were red states, louisiana, mississippi. and when i hear all these callers coming in from west

virginia, do these people actually read do these people actually read a newspaper, not fox five for msdn? did actually read the paper? do they do the research? or are they just spewing garbage? i'm sick of it. i'm 48 years old and we the gen x citizens of the united states come somethings got to change. it's like nothing is really going to change until they die off, until they die off. >> host: got your point. on gas prices, just to show where prices are over four dollars a gallon one of the issues you brought up, it's the states in yellow and bright orange on this map where gas prices are over four dollars a gallon. so mostly in california and on the west coast. a darker purple on this map is states where gas is in the low two dollars range.

the darkest purple there was was under $2.17. gas buddy.com is a a place too to to see that gas price map. it changes daily as gas prices changee throughout the country. this is monty, last call in the segment out of phoenix, arizona. independent. go ahead. >> caller: well, they are still working on hunter biden to see if they can get some information on president biden. so this is just a fishing expedition. and to me it's all about revenge. it's what they're trying to do now. data really have anything to go on but they the figure if h long enough a can find something. so if they really have something then by all means proceed, but you don't really have anything then get your act together, if

you're investigating hunter biden and then see if you need to go after president biden. so the sole thing is just about revenge and its ridiculous. >> host: that's monty, phoenix, arizona, lascaux in this first segment of the "washington journal." >> tonight a discussion about regulating vaping and e-cigarettes with indian republican congressman larry bachchan and the panel of doctors and public health executives. posted by the american enterprise institute in washington, d.c. watch at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span2, c-span now our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. >> traveling over the holidays? make c-span bookshelf podcast feed part of your playlist. listen to all c-span's podcast to feature nonfiction books in one place, c-span bookshelf features multiple episodes of authors discussing history, photography, current events and culture from our signature

program about books, afterwards, booknotes+ and q&a. listen to c-span bookshelf podcast feeds this holiday season. you can find it and all of our podcast on the c-span now free mobile video app where you get your podcasts. and on a website c-span.org/podcast. >> c-span there is a free mobile app featuring or unfiltered view of what's happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up with today's biggest events with life streams of floor proceedings in hearings from the the u.s. congress,e house events, the courts, campaigns and more from the world of politics all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episode of "washington journal" and find schedule information for c-span's tv networks and c-span radio plus a variety of compelling podcast. c-span now is available at the apple store in google play. download it for free today. c-span c-span now your froa