Congress' impeachment hearings have been pretty darn congressional.
Yet Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and a slew of other Republicans seemed to think the hearings involving three bipartisan committees just weren't welcoming enough. So ignoring the fact that 48 Republicans were already allowed into what Gaetz described as "secret interviews" to investigate President Trump, he and a few dozen other GOP congressmembers stormed into a secure room Wednesday and delayed a hearing for five hours.
The stunt began Wednesday when Gaetz marched his Republican battalion into the basement of the Capitol and gave remarks decrying what he called "secret interviews" led by House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (R-Calif.). Gaetz and company then charged into the House's Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, delaying an impeachment interview with Wednesday's testimony with Laura Cooper, who oversees Ukraine policy for the Defense Department. Republicans proceeded to complain that Schiff "up and left" the room when the Republicans walked in carrying banned electronic devices.
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It's true Gaetz and many of the Republicans with him weren't allowed into Miller's hearings. But that's because they're not on the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, or Oversight committees conducting impeachment interviews into President Trump. If they'd wanted more information on the hearings, they could've asked Republicans on those committees, like House Oversight Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) or perhaps Vice President Mike Pence's brother Greg Pence (D-Ind.), who's on foreign affairs. Or maybe not, because Jordan himself — along with several other committee members — helped lead the apparent "storming" of the hearing he was undoubtedly welcome to be at.
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