The GOP leaders on House committees involved in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump have called on the whistleblower, who reported concerns about the White Houses dealings with Ukraine, to testify in public.
Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), and Michael McCaul (R-Texas) sent a letter to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the head of the House Intelligence Committee, demanding to hear from the whistleblower.
“As the so-called impeachment inquiry gathers information that contradicts the employees allegations, we ask that you arrange for the committees to receive public testimony from the employee and all individuals he or she relied upon in formulating the complaint,” the lawmakers said, reported CBS News.
The whistleblower lodged a complaint against President Trumps July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the call, he asked about investigating former Vice President Joe Bidens dealings with Ukraine. The White House later released a transcript of the phone call, showing that Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart to “look into” Biden and his son, Hunter. It doesnt appear to show any quid pro quo.
The report kicked off a series of events that eventually led to House Leader Nancy Pelosis (D-Calif.) announcement that Democrats would be seeking an inquiry into impeachment.
“Several witnesses have offered closed-door testimony in this so-called impeachment inquiry that rebuts the central assertion of the anonymous employees complaint,” the ranking members also told Schiff on Wednesday.
They said that the complaint by the whistleblower contradicted the transcript of the phone call and “contains no reference to the 2020 presidential election,” CBS reported.
The whistleblower also has to come forward, they argued, so as to “fully assess the sources and credibility of the employee.”
Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to know who the whistleblower could be.
“Wheres the Whistleblower?” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.
Republicans have blasted the impeachment depositions that have been taking place under the House Oversight, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs Committees.
On Wednesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and about a dozen other GOP lawmakers went into the House Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), and according to one lawmaker, House Democrats ended the hearing and left.
The representatives went into a secure hearing to attempt to view testimony into the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
Rep. Fred Keller (R-Penn.), in a video, Read More – Source
