WASHINGTON — A group of House Republicans on Wednesday delayed the start of closed-door testimony by Laura Cooper, the top Pentagon official overseeing U.S. policy regarding Ukraine, after storming the secure room where the deposition was being held.
Led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the GOP members — who don’t sit on the committees who are questioning witnesses in the impeachment inquiry — entered the secure room, known as a SCIF, in the basement of the Capitol Visitor’s Center. Before entering, they protested Democrats’ handling of the probe, arguing that the process was not fair to Republicans or the president.
House rules only allow members to participate in depositions if they serve on the committees.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., told reporters that there were approximately 20 GOP members in the room who refused to leave, and said that they came into the secure room yelling that they be allowed inside. Some of these members brought their cell phones, which is not permitted.
“This is being held behind closed doors for a reason because they don’t want you to see what the witnesses are like,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told reporters Wednesday morning before they entered the room. “This is a Soviet-style impeachment process. This is closed doors, it is unfair in every way and I don’t care whether you are the president of the United States or any other citizens of this country, you should be allowed to confront your witnesses.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who is leading the probe, explained last week that there is precedent stemming from the Watergate era, as well as President Bill Clinton’s impeachment proceedings, for holding the initial investigation behind closed doors. He also said that he anticipated a time when impeachment investigators will release the transcripts of the depositions, and that the House may call back some of those witnesses to testify in public.
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On Wednesday, Biggs and other members appeared to post tweets from inside the room.
As part of a series of tweets, Biggs said that “when Republican members were in the SCIF, Chairman Schiff immediately left with the witness.”
“Chairman Schiff threatened to file ethics complaints against remaining Republican members – not clear what exactly he would file or cite,” Biggs claimed.
Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., also tweeted from the room.
Cooper’s appearance comes a day after the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, told members of Congress that President Donald Trump directed officials to tie aid to Ukraine to demands that the country open an investigation into the Biden family and the 2016 election, a potentially serious blow to Trump’s repeated denials of a quid pro quo.
Lawmakers were expected to question cooper about the Trump administration’s decision over the summer to withhold assistance to Ukraine that had previously been appropriated by Congress, despite the Pentagon’s recommendation that it be distributed.
Cooper, a career member of the senior executive service, appears before the staff and members of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees. She currently serves as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia at the Defense Department.
Cooper previously served as principal director in the office of the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security affairs. She joined the Defense Department in 2001 and before that, worked at the State Department.
She’s appearing before Congress Wednesday even though the Defense Department told Congress that it wouldn’t comply with the impeachment inquiry.
Michael Duffey, a politically appointed official in the White House budget office, was also scheduled to testify behind closed doors Wednesday but is not expected to appear after Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russell Vought announced that his office wouldn’t cooperate with the probe.
Cooper’s deposition comes a day after what Democrats described as bombshell testimony from Taylor, who serves as chargé d’affaires in Ukraine.
According to a copy of his opening statement provided to NBC News, Taylor said that E.U. Ambassador Gordon Sondland told him that while Trump was not requesting a “quid pro quo,” he insisted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy publicly announce investigations into the Bidens and matters relating to the 2016 presidential election.
