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Republicans Motion To Subpoena Whistleblower as Impeachment Hearing Begins

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House Republicans came out swinging at the start of Wednesday’s first public hearing of the Intelligence Committee called as part of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

Proceedings had barely begun when Republican Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas said the whistleblower whose complaint concerning Trump began the chain of events that led to the hearing should testify before the panel.

“I seek recognition to make a motion that we actually subpoena the whistleblower for a closed-door secret deposition, so that the questions that should be appropriately asked of the whistleblower by our side and your side may be asked,” Conaway said to Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff.

“And I would prefer rather than it be your single decision, that the committee speak to that issue rather than just the chairman,” Conaway said.



The California Democrat replied to Conaway that the panel would vote on requests to subpoena witnesses after the testimony of those already scheduled to testify.

That brought a jab from Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

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Jordan asked when that vote might be taken so that the members of the committee could “have the whistleblower in front of us, something you — of the 435 members of Congress, you are the only member who knows who that individual is, and your staff is the only staff of any member of Congress that has had a chance to talk with that individual. We would like that opportunity. When might that happen in this proceeding today?”

Previous reports in The New York Times have indicated that the whistleblower met with members of Schiff’s staff before filing a complaint concerning a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Do you believe Schiff doesn't know the identity of the whistleblower?

Schiff on Wednesday denied Jordan’s assertion about the whistleblower.

“First, as the gentleman knows, that’s a false statement,” he said. “I do not know the identity of the whistleblower, and I’m determined to make sure that identity is protected. But as I said to Mr. Conaway, you’ll have an opportunity after the witnesses testify to make a motion to subpoena any witness and compel a vote.”

Schiff’s claim was attacked on Twitter.

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In a September on MSNBC, Schiff said, “We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower,” according to The Washington Post.

In assessing that claim, The Post’s fact-checker wrote, “This is flat-out false. Unlike the quick two-step dance he performed with Anderson Cooper, Schiff simply says the committee had not spoken to the whistleblower. Now we know that’s not true.”

The fact-checker awarded Schiff’s claim four Pinocchios — its top rating for falsity.

On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York asked Schiff whether he would bar committee members from asking certain questions.

Schiff said he would only do so if the questions seemed to be leading toward identifying the whistleblower.

“We will do everything necessary to protect the whistleblower’s identity, and I’m disturbed to hear members of the committee … seek to undermine those protections by outing the whistleblower,” he said, according to The Hill.

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Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




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