(CNN) There are just two Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee who were also on the committee during the last serious congressional inquiry into presidential misconduct, the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

Reps. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and Steve Chabot of Ohio not only sat on the committee during the proceedings in 1998 and 1999, they were also two of the managers (or congressional prosecutors) for impeachment. Both forcefully argued at the time that Clinton's wrongdoing as detailed in the report from independent counsel Kenneth Starr necessitated impeachment.

At Wednesday's hearing with former special counsel Robert Mueller, both veteran GOP lawmakers drew a distinction between Mueller's report on his investigation into President Donald Trump and the impeachment inquiry into Clinton.

During Clinton's hearing and trial two decades ago, Sensenbrenner and Chabot stated clearly their view that the President had engaged in impeachable behavior as demonstrated in Starr's report. But with a president from their own party now in the crosshairs, on Wednesday they took a different tack -- ignoring evidence of Trump's questionable behavior and focusing narrowly on Mueller's specific recommendations (or lack thereof) for congressional action.

James Sensenbrenner

Starr, Sensenbrenner said on Wednesday, "in a number of occasions in his report stated that President Clinton's actions may have risen to impeachable conduct, recognizing that it is up to the House of Representatives to determine what conduct is impeachable."

Read More