US congressional Republicans on Wednesday stormed a closed-door deposition of a US Department of Defense official and refused to leave for several hours in an escalation of the showdown over the impeachment investigation into US President Donald Trump.
More than two dozen lawmakers barged into a secure US Capitol meeting room known as a SCIF, delaying the testimony of US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia Laura Cooper, who was the latest witness in the Democrats-led investigation of possible abuse of power by Trump over his pressure campaign against Ukraine.
The White House has been confronted with a series of depositions by current or former administration officials in recent weeks as Democrats lay out the most serious case against Trump in his nearly three years in office.
Photo: Reuters
However, none appears as explosive and damning as that of Acting US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, who on Tuesday offered startling details that showed a quid pro quo of military aid for political assistance was offered, lawmakers said.
Trump on Wednesday issued a stern warning to any Republicans who might turn on him, describing so-called Never Trumpers within his own party as “human scum.”
With Trump railing against process — “Does anybody think this is fair?” he wrote on Twitter — a few dozen conservative backers sought to bring the conflict to a head by marching uninvited into the deposition room.
It is a breach of US House of Representative rules to enter SCIFs — secure facilities designed to prevent electronic eavesdropping — without permission, and concerns were raised that lawmakers were committing serious security breaches by entering with their mobile phones and other devices.
Some of the Republican encroachers apparently began tweeting from inside.
“BREAKING: I led over 30 of my colleagues into the SCIF where [Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman] Adam Schiff is holding secret impeachment depositions. Still inside — more details to come,” tweeted US Representative Matt Gaetz, a fierce Trump defender.
US Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, wrote to the sergeant at arms, saying that lawmakers blatantly breached security by “intentionally” bringing their electronic devices into the SCIF.
“As such, I am requesting you take action with respect to the members involved in the breach,” Thompson wrote.
The sit-in delayed the deposition of Cooper for several hours.
She began testifying later in the afternoon, a staffer told reporters, and that evening Schiff tweeted that she “did her lawful duty and answered questions from both parties.”
“She did so notwithstanding efforts by the president to stop her, and when those failed, efforts by his GOP allies in Congress to do the same,” Schiff wrote.
US Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican who joined the protest, said that lawmakers were being denied access as Democrats were “trying to impeach the president of the United States with a one-sided set of rules.”
All members of the three House committees conducting the investigation, including more than 40 Republicans — among them US Vice President Mike Pence’s brother, US Representative Greg Pence — are permitted to attend the depositions and question witnesses.
Several of those with full access to the hearing joined other Republicans in the protest, saying the impeachment process deserves more transparency.
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