WASHINGTON -- Sarah Palin may have demanded that President Barack Obama be impeached, and tea party Republicans may have flirted with that idea as well, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) declared Tuesday that such talk was all a "scam" dreamed up by the White House.
"This whole talk about impeachment is coming from the president’s own staff, and coming from Democrats on Capitol Hill," Boehner told reporters at a news conference. "Why? Because they’re trying to rally their people to give money and show up in this year's elections.
"We have no plans to impeach the president. We have no future plans," Boehner added emphatically. "Listen. It’s all a scam started by Democrats at the White House."
Boehner appeared to be referring to comments last week by senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer, who was asked about impeachment talk circulating in Washington, and said the administration expects that ultimately Boehner won't be able to resist appeals from his base to go after Obama.
The speaker is already launching a lawsuit against Obama, alleging that he has not enforced the Affordable Care Act vigorously enough. A resolution authorizing the suit is expected to get a vote by the full House this week.
While there is talk on the right of impeaching Obama, so far the greatest impact of it has indeed been to help Democrats raise money. Earlier this month, Republican leaders also downplayed the chances of impeachment.
There are, however, a number of Republicans who have floated the I-word. Just this past weekend, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), a new member of Boehner's leadership team, refused to take impeachment off the table. Others who have raised it include Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.).
UPDATE:This story has been updated to include a list of Republicans who have suggested impeachment.
Michael McAuliff covers Congress and politics for The Huffington Post. Talk to him on Facebook.
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