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President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are discussing a push to formally expunge his two impeachments from the House record, an effort supporters say would correct what they view as politically motivated proceedings.
The renewed interest follows the declassification of material tied to the investigation that led to the president’s first impeachment, with allies arguing the documents undermine the credibility of key witnesses and reinforce claims that the impeachment process was partisan.
“It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” President Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. “It was a rigged deal — it was a whole rigged situation.”
President Trump was impeached by the House in 2019 over his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and again in 2021 following the Jan. 6 breach of the United States Capitol. The Senate acquitted him in both cases.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said conversations about expungement have intensified in recent weeks. He told the Journal he has discussed the matter with President Trump and legal allies, including Alan Dershowitz and Jay Sekulow.
“I think it makes a lot of sense the more the evidence comes out, the more we know they really were sham impeachments,” Johnson said.
“We were saying it at the time, now we know,” he added. “And they make a very compelling case that it should be expunged from the record, because it was a hyperpartisan attack job.”
The effort gained momentum after conservative journalist John Solomon reported on newly declassified material connected to Trump’s first impeachment. The president later shared online clips featuring Solomon and Dershowitz discussing whether the information could justify expunging the impeachments.
“I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be done,” Dershowitz said in one clip shared by the president.
Darrell Issa introduced a House resolution in April declaring both impeachments expunged. The proposal has attracted 23 Republican co-sponsors.
