Henry C. "Hank" Johnson
Representative for Georgia · Democratic · United States
“It is a Democratic fundraising site that collects small-dollar donations from people across the country who fuel the Democratic Party's fundraising. ActBlue is a vehicle for everyday Americans to make small-dollar donations to the campaigns of people who are standing up to Donald Trump and fighting back against this administration.”
“It is a Democratic fundraising site that collects small-dollar donations from people across the country who fuel the Democratic Party's fundraising. ActBlue is a vehicle for everyday Americans to make small-dollar donations to the campaigns of people who are standing up to Donald Trump and fighting back against this administration.”
“They are investigating a Governor who opposed Trump. They are investigating the New York attorney general, the New Jersey attorney general, and also United States Representatives and Senators who have spoken out against the Trump administration.”
“They are investigating a Governor who opposed Trump. They are investigating the New York attorney general, the New Jersey attorney general, and also United States Representatives and Senators who have spoken out against the Trump administration.”
“As a lawyer, I never thought that I would ever live to see the Department of Justice being perverted to the point of turning its attention on prosecuting a State court judge for interfering with a deportation in her courtroom and in her courthouse.”
“Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury), who I am glad has joined me this evening. Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for convening this Special Order hour. Mr. Speaker, this week marks this administration's first 100 days in office.”
The complete record
Every one of 103 lines we hold for Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 3.
“The judiciary, the third branch of government, still remains in his way. How does he deal with the judiciary? He is openly and brazenly criticizing [[Page H1717]] and attacking judicial rulings that he doesn't like--including a number issued by Republican-appointed judges, including his own--and is openly defying court orders including Supreme Court orders. The President and some of my Republican colleagues are threatening judges. They are trying to bully them into ruling in their favor and not ruling based on their interpretation of the law. With the career folks removed from our executive branch agencies, he has put political lackeys in charge of our criminal justice system and our national security apparatus. He is ordering criminal investigations into individuals simply because they disagree with him.”
“He is threatening to remove the tax-exempt status of any organization that may disagree with his opinions or support lawsuits that might actually enforce existing laws. Mr. Speaker, you see where this is going. The media, the FBI, inspectors general, the Department of Justice, law firms, universities, and nonprofit organizations are all institutions that enforce our laws and that hold those in power accountable. This is his methodical way of undermining all forms of accountability in this government. More recently, his attack on our Constitution has escalated. Before he even came into office in January, President Trump had completely submitted the Republican Conference of this body. They have abdicated their constitutional duty to be a check and balance on the executive branch.”
“He has signed several executive orders, trying to limit the ability of law firms to represent their clients, one of the fundamental hallmarks of our system of law. He has gone after universities. These institutions form the bedrock foundation of the growth and innovation of our great country and underpin and form the foundation for the best global economy in the world. He is now threatening to withhold billions of dollars in Federal funding unless universities change their curriculum, change their admissions process, change their hiring process, and change other core parts of their mission that they, as educational institutions, decide in this democracy. He is also waging a war against nonprofit organizations, yanking grants away that have already been made and allocated.”
“It is their responsibility to ensure that those agencies follow the law. Then he went after the Department of Justice and the FBI. He fired prosecutors and special agents who investigated his criminal conduct. They simply did their job. He then turned to the Public Integrity Section, the renowned and venerable institution that was created after Watergate to be an independent investigative body of public officials. He and his administration have also been firing and forcing out anyone who might not share his political views, even though these jobs are career, nonpartisan, and apolitical jobs. Next, he went after lawyers and law firms who tried to hold him accountable to the law. He continues to do so.”
“Speaker, while many, rightly, have been focusing on the arbitrary and devastating cuts to essential Federal programs or the disastrous and reckless tariffs that have increased prices and inflation and have tanked the economy, President Trump's first 100 days have also escalated this relentless assault on the checks and balances that have been the foundation of our great Nation. On day one, he pardoned more than 1,500 criminals who stormed this very building on January 6. Hundreds of them were convicted of violently assaulting law enforcement officers. It was a blatant and disgusting disregard for the rule of law and for our fine men and women in uniform. Next, during his first week, he fired nearly 20 inspectors general, the independent watchdogs in the executive branch agencies.”
“In just 100 days, President Trump has engaged in a coordinated, premeditated, deliberate attempt to dismantle our government. Let's be very clear: Donald Trump does not seek to lead us. He seeks to rule us, and we all must open our eyes. Since he first came into office, President Trump has persistently attacked the media to undermine the credibility of the messenger of news that he didn't like. Then, during Special Counsel Mueller's investigation on Russia's interference in the 2016 election to benefit Donald Trump's campaign, President Trump attacked the FBI relentlessly, trying to undermine its credibility. Rather than debate the facts or the evidence, which he knows he would lose, isn't it just a lot easier to simply shoot the messenger and claim that everything bad about you is just fake news? {time} 1830 Mr.”
“That is not the way the Department of Justice should work, and that is not the way that big, powerful law firms should work. They should choose the clients that they want to represent, not Donald Trump choosing their clients and causes for them. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Goldman), my good friend, a former prosecutor. He has some things that he wants to tell you. Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Johnson, for organizing this incredibly important Special Order hour to highlight the absolutely unprecedented and devastating attacks on our democracy and on the rule of law. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm that our democratic values and the rule of law are under attack. We all must open our eyes before we find ourselves in Vladimir Putin's Russia.”
“Just last night, one of Trump's executive orders directed the Attorney General to use this private sector pro bono work that he has extracted to represent him so that they would defend law enforcement officers who are charged with offenses in the performance of their official duties. Let me translate that. That means--okay, you remember George Floyd, who was murdered by an officer who wouldn't take his knee off of George Floyd's neck until he suffocated. You all remember that. You all remember Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed in her bed after a botched, no-knock drug raid; or Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death after a traffic stop. Under the new Trump regime, the DOJ would conscript private law firms to, for free, represent those police officers against the families of the victims of police brutality.”
“Not only that, but as part of their deal with Trump, these law firms promised nearly a billion dollars in pro bono work, but only for the causes that Trump cares about. Now, pro bono means ``for the public good,'' but apparently Trump and the law firms that he has punked out think it just means free legal work for Trump. Trump has punked these big, powerful, and wealthy law firms into providing free labor to help him negotiate trade deals, to help him revive the coal industry, and to help his friend Elon Musk, the billionaire, as he wields a chainsaw through his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. White House officials have said the pro bono work could be used toward representing Trump himself or his allies.”
“What makes their clients think that those law firms that bent a knee to Trump will represent their interests? I don't know. Only time will tell what happens to those firms that capitulated. In the first Trump administration, law firms were part of the huge effort by the legal community to challenge unconstitutional policies of the Trump administration, like the Muslim ban, but this time around the Trump administration is going to make sure that that doesn't happen. That is why they are threatening these law firms and making them heel and forcing them to come to the table and capitulate and roll over and let him rub their soft bellies. They won't be involved in protecting the people against Trump's excesses this time around.”
“He is threatening these very powerful and wealthy, corporate-representing law firms with investigations, with revocation of security clearances, with termination of government contracts or funding, with bans from accessing government buildings, and hiring bans. Some of these law firms are standing up and suing the Trump administration for this unlawful behavior, law firms like Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Susman Godfrey, and WilmerHale; but a raft of other law firms, like Paul, Weiss, Skadden, and Latham, bent the knee and laid down because they were too afraid of this administration destroying their businesses. I mean, here are a number of big, bad, powerful, wealthy law firms that can't even use the law to protect themselves, afraid to use the law to protect themselves.”
“The terror that inflicts my colleagues on the other side of the aisle so that they find it impossible to muster the courage to speak out when they see something wrong and hear something wrong and, you know, everything going against their morals-- they know it is wrong, but yet they can't speak out--they are [[Page H1716]] victims of this reign of terror, although I don't absolve them of responsibility for having no courage. They should have courage, just like the law firms that have been targeted by the Trump administration. Some of those law firms have protested, but others have yielded to the terror.”
“What is happening in this country is not normal. We refuse to normalize it. We refuse to allow our democracy to be hijacked. We refuse to allow the silence that is deafening this country right now to continue. We must continue to speak up. I say, Mr. Speaker, the time to act is now because if we do not, we will lose everything. We must restore accountability. We must restore our institutions. We must restore our norms. We must stand up. We must speak out. We need our colleagues across the aisle to join us before we lose our democracy. Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for those very thoughtful comments.”
“They have failed to do their most basic constitutional duty of speaking up on behalf of the people that they represent, of holding the administration accountable, of saying something when they see something that is wrong. Not only do they refuse to do their most basic job, but they are here in this building working on a tax package behind closed doors all around us that will further take away the rights of the American people, that will decimate basic programs that help people put food on the table and a roof over their heads. All around us, our colleagues are refusing to say out loud the things they will say to us in private: that they, too, are frightened about what is happening; that they, too, have constituents and veterans and elderly people on Social Security and disability who are frightened for their lives right now.”
“This is a sign that the American people need to continue to stand up, to speak out, to show up, to attend those townhalls, to call their Representatives, to continue marching, to continue making sure that we hold our elected officials to account. All across my district, there is not a single family who has not been touched over the last 100 days: People who have lost their jobs, teachers and firefighters, people who work for the VA and the Forest Service, who work for our national security programs, scientists and engineers, people who just started their jobs and people who have been there for countless decades. These are real stories, real people, real lives that have been impacted every single day for the last 100 days. What have my colleagues across the aisle done? Nothing. They have done nothing.”
“Everywhere we go, across the aisle, we saw people who are afraid they are going to lose their Social Security, people who are afraid they are going to lose the healthcare that keeps them and their family members alive, people who are afraid that they are not going to be able to afford to put a roof over their head or food on the table, people who are afraid watching as their family members and friends are facing the threats of deportation, students who are afraid to show up to school because they don't know what will happen to themselves or their families. This is the sign of an unhealthy democracy. This is the sign of an executive who has lost touch with the American people. This is the sign of an authoritarian and autocratic way of operating. This is the sign of a democracy that has lost its way.”
“Speaker, I have just wrapped up a townhall tour across my district. While my colleagues across the aisle are afraid to even face their constituents, we are showing up every day across our communities: 15 townhalls touching 15,000 New Mexicans across every county that we represent in 12 towns and communities and Tribal communities across our State. Let me say this: Our people are afraid.”
“Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury), who I am glad has joined me this evening. Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for convening this Special Order hour. Mr. Speaker, this week marks this administration's first 100 days in office. It has been 100 days of chaos, corruption, confusion, and absolute destruction of our Constitution and the norms that this great Nation was built on; 100 days of tearing apart our democracy, our families, our communities, the vital Federal programs that serve the people who make up our communities; thousands fired, agencies dismantled, and people's personal and private data stolen; self-dealing billions of dollars in Federal contracts, judges jailed, a Congress that refuses to act and to do its job, and the countless Americans who are living in fear. Mr.”
“They are investigating a Governor who opposed Trump. They are investigating the New York attorney general, the New Jersey attorney general, and also United States Representatives and Senators who have spoken out against the Trump administration. {time} 1815 Trump has directed the Department of Justice to investigate Chris Krebs because Chris Krebs told the truth that the 2020 election was safe and secure. Just within the last week, the Attorney General issued legal guidelines that allowed the Justice Department to subpoena reporters' personal communications without notice and to criminally prosecute any government employees who are seen as undermining the administration's views. The message is clear: If you say anything negative about the king, then you are not safe. This reign of terror is what we are talking about tonight. Mr.”
“When the pardon attorney refused to recommend restoring the gun rights of one of President Trump's supporters, who was also a convicted domestic violence perpetrator, guess what? She was fired too. When she was called to testify as a whistleblower about her termination, she was called by Democrats to Congress. Then the Friday night before the Monday she was to show up in Congress, armed law enforcement agents were directed to show up at her house on a Friday night, late, knocking on her door, and they tried to intimidate her out of testifying. It didn't work, I am happy to report. The DOJ is also opening investigations to intimidate other whistleblowers from speaking up and to punish those who already have. The Department of Justice has opened investigations into a lawyer who previously prosecuted Trump's friends.”
“Trump is perverting his Justice Department away from administering justice into an outfit that is only there to prosecute his personal vendettas, punish his enemies, and award his friends. He has installed to do his bidding banana republic cronies like Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, who are more than willing to carry out Trump's abuse of the justice system. Under their reign, dozens of prosecutors were targeted, identified, and fired simply because they had worked on the January 6 insurrection cases. The FBI turned over a list of 4,000 current and former FBI personnel who worked on the January 6 cases so that they too could be targeted for firing.”
“I administered our system of justice as a magistrate court judge, upholding the law without fear or favor. That is the America that I love, one where everyone in this country feels secure enough in our rights to speak their mind and to live freely. I am deeply disturbed about the devolution that I am seeing taking place right now in terms of the rule of law and justice in this country. Unfortunately, this is what we are seeing under this Trump reign of terror. In only 100 days, there has been an onslaught of attacks on the judiciary and the rule of law. Trump is using the Department of Justice to carry out a campaign of terror, retribution, and vengeance.”
“I decided I was going to open up my law firm and practice criminal defense law just like him. [[Page H1715]] I believed in due process. I believed that if government accused you of a crime, you had a right to a trial by a jury of your peers and the prosecutor had the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before the jury was authorized to convict. The government could not just accuse you of something without evidence, lock you up, and throw away the key without due process. I believe in the rule of law and I believe in the Constitution, which undergirds the rule of law. I believe in equal protection under the law. As a lawyer, I fought for my clients in court, ensuring they received due process and equal protection under the law that they were entitled to.”
“Tonight, the topic I feel most urgency around is illuminating the ways that the Trump administration is destroying democracy through its attack on the rule of law. As a young man, I decided to become a lawyer. Actually, as a child, I was 4 years old when my hero, my mentor, my cousin--we called him Tokey, but his name was Archibald Hill--I was 4 years old when he graduated from law school and became a lawyer. When that happened, I decided at that tender age of 4 years old that I wanted to be just like him. I wanted to be an attorney also. Archibald went out to Oklahoma and set up his homebase there in Oklahoma City, and he hung out his shingle as a solo practitioner and began to practice criminal defense law, and me, being his acolyte, his fan, wanted to be just like him.”
“We are seeing great success in the courts, which is why this President is now attacking the judiciary and attacking judges, and we will talk about that later during this Special Order hour, which I have been asked to lead. I also participate in a hearings working group that sets up hearings across the Nation to highlight how this administration's unlawful and unconstitutional actions are affecting everyday people. Importantly for tonight, I participate in the Special Order hour working group, where my fellow Representatives and I organize time to speak on topics of urgent importance so that the American public can be informed about the harm this administration is causing, our thoughts about it, and what we can do about it, both here in the Halls of Congress and in the courts as well as in the streets.”
“I participate in the Litigation Working Group that brainstorms ideas for amicus briefs where Congress' perspective would be especially important and useful to the courts such as when the Trump administration tramples upon Congress' constitutional powers by ignoring the will of Congress as expressed by legislation that directs that a certain thing be done. When Congress passes legislation and that legislation is signed into law, then whoever is President is charged with the responsibility of taking care that that law is faithfully executed. The President does not have the power to nullify a law passed by Congress, but this President is willfully acting like a dictator and the Litigation Working Group is working to stop this President from acting unlawfully and unconstitutionally.”
“Speaker, after Donald Trump and his co- president Elon Musk took office on January 20, Democrats in Congress realized that we were engaged in a multifaceted struggle to protect and defend everyday Americans from the harm being inflicted by this reckless and cruel administration. It was an all-hands-on-deck moment with roles for Congress, the courts, and for we the people. On February 10, House Democratic Party Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries formally established the Rapid Response Task Force and Litigation Working Group, chaired by assistant leader Joe Neguse and co-chaired by Representatives Rosa DeLauro, Gerry Connolly, and Jamie Raskin. The task force itself is also a multifaceted defense of our democracy with its 45 Members participating in various working groups.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 71 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 29, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1714-H1719] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] ATTACKS AND THREATS ON DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Johnson of Georgia was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. General Leave Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous material into the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor). Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia? There was no objection. Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr.”
“Mr. Speaker, a link to the entire document can be found here: https://democracyforward.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2025/04/Final-Letter-Regarding-Protecting-the-Legal-Profession__- 4 .2.25-Upd-1.pdf.”
“Untiedt Dabdoub, PLLC; Urban Justice Center; Urofsky Legal Advisory Services, PLLC; VECINA; Vera Institute of Justice; Vermont Asylum Assistance Project; VIDAS; Virginia Poverty Law Center; VKV Law Group, LLC; Vogele Law PLLC; Volunteer Lawyers Project of CNY, Inc.; Walden Law, PLLC; Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs; Weiner Law; Welch ADR; Western New York Law Center, Inc.; William E. Morris Institute for Justice; Women & Justice Issues; Women Lawyers On Guard Action Network, Inc.; Worksafe; Wynne & Wynne, Austin.”
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“Respectfully yours, ORGANIZATIONS AND FIRMS Acacia Center for Justice; Access Justice Brooklyn; ACLU of Massachusetts; Advocates for Trans Equality; Aguilar Monett Law, P.L.L.C.; AH Law Firm, PLLC; Al Otro Lado; Ali & Lockwood, LLP; Alliance for Justice; Altshuler Berzon, LLP; Alyssa Rodriguez Center for Gender Justice; American Civil Liberties Union; American Constitution Society; American Gateways; American Immigration Council; American Immigration Lawyers Association; American Oversight; Americans United for Separation of Church and State; Amica Center for Immigrant; Rights; Amsale Aberra Law, PLLC.”
“It is incumbent on you to use all of the tools available to you to preserve and protect the independence and integrity of the legal profession, including opposing the use of the federal government to attack lawyers, law firms, and legal organizations for engaging in good faith representation of their clients.”
“Attacking legal advocates based on the positions they take in good faith litigation or based on who their clients are or have been is inconsistent with our nation's values and with the Constitution's contemplation of the functioning of the judicial branch. Indeed before the founding of the United States, John Adams, an ardent supporter of American independence and someone who opposed King George III, famously represented the British crown's own soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre--driven by an unwavering commitment to fair process and equal justice. During your confirmation hearings earlier this year before the United States Senate, you pledged to ensure that there was ``confidence and integrity'' in the United States Department of Justice and stated that you opposed the ``partisan weaponization'' of the Department.”
“On March 14, 2025, at the Department of Justice, the President called his courtroom opponents ``scum,'' judges ``corrupt,'' and prosecutors ``deranged.'' On March 14, 2025, the President issued a memo titled ``Addressing Risks from Paul Weiss.'' On March 22, 2025, the President issued a memo titled ``Rescinding Security Clearances and Access to Classified Information from Specified Individuals.'' On March 22, 2025, the President sent a memo to Attorney General Pam Bondi titled ``Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court.'' It is your responsibility, as the lawyer ultimately entrusted with the representation of the United States in legal matters, to oppose attacks on the legal profession, on judges, and on the rule of law and to ensure that the Department of Justice uses its full power to protect the legal profession and equal justice under law for all people.”
“We write to you, as the nation's highest ranking legal official, out of deep concern regarding a number of actions that the President of the United States and his administration have taken and a number of statements targeting lawyers and the legal profession. The following are illustrative examples of the concerning actions and statements: On February 25, 2025, the President issued a memo titled ``Suspension of Security Clearances and Evaluation of Government Contracts'' targeting Covington & Burling LLP. On March 6, 2025, the President issued a memo titled ``Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP.'' On March 11, 2025, the President issued a memo titled ``Ensuring the Enforcement of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c),'' aiming to make it harder for organizations, communities, and individuals to enforce their rights.”