WASHINGTON: A U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry devolved into chaos on Wednesday as Republican lawmakers, encouraged by President Donald Trump to get tougher in fighting Democratic efforts to impeach him, stormed into a high-security hearing room and delayed testimony by a key Pentagon witness.
More than two dozen Republican lawmakers who were not authorized to attend the hearing surged into the room where Laura Cooper, the U.S. defense official who oversees Ukraine and Russia matters, was due to testify behind closed doors before Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
The protesting Republicans yelled complaints that the Democrats in charge of the inquiry were conducting it in private, lawmakers and aides said. After a delay of about four hours, Cooper began her testimony.
It was a dramatic confrontation during the escalating inquiry that threatens Trump’s presidency even as he seeks re-election next year.
It focuses on Trump’s request for Ukraine to investigate a domestic rival – former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a frontrunner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination – for his personal political benefit.
By having Republican lawmakers barge into the hearing room, Trump’s allies sought to put the focus on what they portray as unfair Democratic tactics rather than on the president’s conduct.
Late on Wednesday, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, who led the confrontation, told reporters, “There are going to be other things done to push even harder to have a fair and open process.”
Although the Republicans complained of a lack of transparency in the inquiry, the U.S. constitution gives the House wide latitude in how to conduct the impeachment process and set rules for the probe. It is being held in a secure room used to brief lawmakers about confidential or sensitive material.
