House Republicans Storm Schiff’s Secret Impeachment Room

About two dozen frustrated House Republicans on Wednesday stormed the secret room where House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) has been running the closed-door impeachment inquiry.

Led by House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the Republican lawmakers attempted to enter the room where Schiff  has been bringing in current and former State Department officials to testify on whether President Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine in exchange for alleged help with the 2020 election.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) told reporters outside the room that he has served in third world countries more transparent than the way Schiff was handling the impeachment inquiry. Last week, 184 Republicans voted to censure Schiff.

Green Beret @RepMichaelWaltz slamming the secret impeachment inquiry this morning:

“I have fought from #Afghanistan to West Africa — I have operated in countries in third world countries who have fairer processes to deal with their elected leadership than what we see today.” pic.twitter.com/a32jggQcVi

— Kristina Wong ?? (@kristina_wong) October 23, 2019

The interviews of these officials have taken place out of the public’s view and in a classified compartment in the Capitol Hill basement. Republicans say there is no classified material being discussed, and it is not an intelligence matter. The closed-door interviews have allowed Democrats to emerge from the basement bunker and selectively leak snippets of the interviews to reporters.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) took the handling of the impeachment inquiry away from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and gave it to the Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight Committees, led by Schiff.

As a result, members of the House Judiciary Committee — which is in charge of drafting articles of impeachment — cannot attend the secret impeachment proceedings featuring former and current State Department officials secretly testifying on Ukraine.

Gaetz attempted to attend the impeachment hearings last week, but was forced to leave. Schiff is not sharing transcripts of the interviews either. He recently compared his secret proceedings to a grand jury, despite there being no crime involved.

Gaetz also expressed concern with witnesses being able to compare stories, and Republicans being able to defend the president more effectively if the hearings are open and transparent to the public.

Follow Breitbart News’ @Kristina_Wong.