I’m gathered here with dozens of my congressional colleagues underground in the basement of
the Capitol, because if behind those doors if they intent to overturn the results of
an American presidential election, we want to know what’s going on.
We’re gonna go and see if we can get inside.
So let’s see if we can get in.
This is Republican congressman Matt Gaetz leading a faction of GOP lawmakers into the
SCIF, or sensitive compartmented information facility, to disrupt a deposition with Laura
Cooper, a Pentagon official with jurisdiction over Ukraine policy.
And that’s exactly what they did, entering the SCIF with their cell phones to demand
that they be involved in the proceedings, a stunt that’s not only absurd, but puts
our national security at risk.
And this stunt comes because the party line on the right is now that Adam Schiff is holding
secret impeachment meetings to unilaterally undermine the results of the 2016 election
and oust President Trump.
Of course, that is complete BS.
The hearings are BIPARTISAN and comprised of over 200 members of both parties who sit
on the three committees leading the impeachment inquiry.
So while Republicans will have you think it’s Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton
herself pulling levers in some secret basement, that is SHOCKINGLY not the case.
Republicans are ALLOWED into these hearings if they’re on the appropriate committees
that are actually conducting the investigations.
Just like I am allowed into a bank vault if I work at the bank and I am NOT allowed in
the bank vault if I don’t work at a bank.
Are you seeing why this is problematic?
Also, I should probably note that this idea of private interviews isn’t new.
In fact, you might want to look at the Final Report for the Republican-led Benghazi Select
Committee, page 360, where they wrote “The Committee’s preference for private interviews
over public hearings has been questioned.
Interviews are a more efficient and effective means of discovery.
Interviews allow witnesses to be questioned in depth by a highly prepared member or staff
person.
In a hearing, every member of a committee is recognized—usually for five minutes—a
procedure which precludes in-depth focused questioning.
Interviews also allow the Committee to safeguard the privacy of witnesses who may fear retaliation
for cooperating or whose work requires anonymity, such as intelligence community operatives.”
In other words, when it comes to the benefits of private interview, the Republican Party
might want to consult with the Republican Party.
But here’s what is actually happening here.
Yesterday, Bill Taylor, the top US diplomat in Ukraine, testified that there was in fact
a quid pro quo as Trump wanted military aid withheld until Ukraine publicly declared that
investigations would be launched that could help with his re-election, and that blew a
massive hole in Trump’s latest defense.
And so the Republicans’ response is now to pre-emptively disrupt the testimony of
another official.
In other words, the goal here is to explicitly stifle testimony that they view as potentially
harmful to Trump to keep other information from coming out.
How they could possibly think this makes them look good is absolutely beyond me.
And what’s worse is that this is all being done with Trump’s blessing.
Trump reportedly had advanced knowledge and supported the protest by Republicans who told
him that they would barge into the secure hearing room to shout about how the president
is innocent.
Because nothing screams innocence like stifling the deposition of a federal official testifying
under oath to a bipartisan congressional committee.
Also, there’s a reason that cell phones and electronics are prohibited in the SCIF.
The very purpose of the facility is that it’s designed to prevent electronic eavesdropping
so that members of Congress can receive highly classified information on intelligence operations,
on our adversaries, etc.
Clearly, the information being discussed in this room is valuable.
Now, because members of Congress have access to this information, they’re high value
targets for foreign intelligence, and if their electronics have ALREADY been hacked, meaning
for example, foreign adversaries are listening in without them even knowing, then entering
the SCIF with those devices can put our national security at risk.
There is a reason that cell phones are collected at the door.
There is a reason that electronics are not permitted.
And so when Gaetz and his band of Trump sycophants decided to pull this stunt, they showed the
entire country that they’re willing to risk our national security to parrot some BS White
House talking points that’ll be discarded in a day or two when they cling onto the next
desperate defense.
By the way, these congressmen KNOW how grave of a national security breach this is, which
is why, while they were shamelessly sending out tweets from a facility that isn’t even
supposed to have electronics INSIDE, they suddenly followed up with desperate disclaimers
saying “tweet from staff.”
In other words, they clearly KNEW that having phones inside was a national security risk
that could cost you your security clearance, but they went in with them anyway and just
did the bare minimum in terms of covering their bases after the damage was already done.
It’s worth mentioning too that this is the same party that howled nonstop about how Hillary’s
nonsecure email server was the gravest national security risk in American history who are
now knowingly putting national security at risk in the most secure facility that exists
in Washington DC all for a stunt to curry favor with the president.
But I’m none of these Republicans have ever uttered the phrase “but her emails.”
And here’s the thing, this whole “Adam Schiff holding secret meetings” is only
the latest in a long line of absurd and debunked talking points that the White House is desperately
dispatching.
We’ve heard that the whistleblower was a partisan and can’t be trusted, despite the
fact that everything in the complaint was corroborated.
We’ve heard that you can’t have a whistleblower complaint with second-hand information, even
though it’s perfectly legal to do so.
We’ve heard that Schiff was in cahoots with the whistleblower, even though he followed
protocol when his staff advised the whistleblower to get legal counsel and file a complaint
with the Intel Community Inspector General.
We’ve heard that there wasn’t a quid pro quo, even though Bill Taylor testified and
confirmed that it was, indeed, a quid pro quo.
We’ve heard that Ukraine said it wasn’t pressured into opening a probe, even though
Ukraine has come forward and admitted that they believed opening an investigation into
Biden was a condition for restarting talks to get their military aid.
The list of excuses goes on and on, the reason for which is that nothing is sticking.
And the reason for THAT is the Trump is guilty.
The only thing you need to know, while you’re wading through this avalanche of White House
BS and their obfuscation and diversionary tactics is that Trump asked the leader of
a foreign country to do him a favor to help his re-election.
He used his public office for person gain.
This is corruption, pure and simple.
That’s it.
So Republicans can pull all the stunts they’d like, but it’s only making Trump look guiltier
and guiltier each and every time.