GOP congressman denounces 'bad behavior' and says he 'can’t do anything' to help Trump
United States Representative and chair of the House Conservative Climate Caucus John Curtis (R-Utah) denounced "us versus them" politics and stated that he "can't do anything about" former President Donald Trump's criminal indictments during a speech at a Sutherland Institute event at Utah Valley University on Tuesday.
According to Bryan Schott of The Salt Lake Tribune, Curtis told his audience that "I've been doing work in my district and haven't been paying attention" to the 2024 Republican presidential primary contest, where Trump holds a commanding polling lead over a dozen rivals jockeying to earn the nomination.
"The election is a long way away," Curtis added. "I haven't even thought about that question."
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Regarding Trump and the ninety-one felonies that federal and state prosecutors have filed against him for "his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, his handling of sensitive documents at his Florida residence, and attempting to hide a sexual relationship with an adult film actress," Schott writes, Curtis stated that he "can't do anything about the former president" and "his legal problems."
Trump was also impeached — twice — for attempting to blackmail Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into providing damaging information about then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and for inciting the January 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection after he lost the 2020 race to Biden.
Following his election to a third term, Curtis issued a statement on November 9th, 2020 affirming that Biden defeated Trump.
"First, President Trump should be entitled to every legal opportunity to make his case. Second, until a judicial decision determines wrongdoing, Joe Biden should be acknowledged as the President-Elect," the edict reads. "Given the opportunity to address Joe Biden, I would tell him that I will take him at his word that he will be a unifier and a president to all, including those of us that did not vote for him—I stand ready to help. To Kamala Harris, I would say that I do not need to agree with her politics to acknowledge the historic nature of her election—congratulations. To Donald Trump, I would say thanks for an amazing list of accomplishments over the past four years—too long to list."
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Nonetheless, Curtis, whom Schott recalls voted against impeaching Trump both times, bemoaned that Americans "seem willing to tolerate the exact amount of bad behavior needed to make sure someone pursuing our agenda is not taken out." He lamented the idea that "somehow, all the good guys are on my side, and all the bad guys are on the other side. We need to get better at calling out the bad behavior of those that share our politics."
Curtis also acknowledged that although "impeachment papers have been filed" against Biden "by some of my colleagues, I don't think it's a foregone conclusion."
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View Schott's report at this link.
