[quote]Dozens of House Republicans on Wednesday stormed the secure facility inside the Capitol where impeachment investigators have been deposing witnesses, forcing a delay to the proceedings on the heels of damning new revelations that could further imperil President Donald Trump. The two sides were still trying to work through the standoff by mid-morning, with Republicans who do not sit on the committees leading the inquiry refusing to leave the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in the basement of the Capitol, and Democrats insisting those lawmakers had no right to be there. According to people familiar with the matter, some GOP lawmakers brought their cell phones into the secure area — a significant violation of House rules. Another person said the room had to be fully swept for potential security breaches. Republicans said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was threatening GOP lawmakers with ethics violations. Schiff was also consulting with the House's sergeant at arms. Democrats said the stunt showed that Republicans were reeling from Tuesday’s testimony by William Taylor, the top American diplomat in Ukraine, who directly tied Trump to a quid pro quo with the eastern European nation involving critical military aid. “It’s completely inappropriate. When the facts are against you, the law is against you, the president clearly committed a crime, you’re left with arguing the process,” said Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.), who witnessed the chaos unfold behind closed doors. The GOP stunt, led by House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), comes as Trump has demanded that Republicans “get tough and fight” for him in the impeachment probe. But Republicans have struggled to defend Trump on the substance of the allegations against him, and have instead focused on hammering Democrats over what they see as an illegitimate impeachment process. The Republican effort came one day after Democrats secured of their most explosive findings in the impeachment probe. Yet GOP lawmakers — at least for the first half of the day — successfully changed the conversation; instead of being pressed for reaction to Taylor’s testimony, they were fielding questions from reporters about the drama unfolding inside the secure facility. Republicans knew they would be turned away from the closed-door deposition; only members who sit on the authorized committees are permitted to sit in on the sessions. Scores of Republicans who sit on the three panels leading the inquiry have been participating in the witness interviews. Another person in the room said Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.) was “getting in the faces of and shouting at Democrats.” “It was tense,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee. But the GOP has been girding for a showdown with Democrats over the inquiry, which they believe is being conducted unfairly. Democrats expressed frustration with the stunt on Wednesday, saying it put a scheduled deposition on hold. “They basically ran over a member of the staff” to get in the room, said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). “They just came into the room and started shouting about the president. Literally some of them were just screaming … saying that the process is wrong.” One Republican who has been able to attend the proceedings, Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah, acknowledged that the closed-door nature of the impeachment proceedings are consistent with the House’s procedures. “This may be within House rules. That’s not the question. The question is, is it a good idea to impeach the president in secret hearings?” Stewart said. “This may very well be within Chairman Schiff’s and Nancy Pelosi’s authority to do this. I think it’s a bad idea.” Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry have been gathering evidence for the probe behind closed doors, asserting that secrecy is paramount in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. Republicans have said the depositions should be done in public. Republicans also argue it is unfair that only members of the three committees spearheading the inquiry — Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs — are permitted to attend the closed-door interviews. On Wednesday, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper appeared for testimony, and GOP members of the House Armed Services Committee asserted it was their right to attend the deposition because the Pentagon falls under their committee’s jurisdiction. “I represent nearly a million Floridians who are asking me my thoughts on this process, and yet I can’t relay to them anything except what’s being leaked to the media. It is really a travesty,” said Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), a member of the Armed Services panel. In reality, more than 45 House Republicans — nearly a quarter of the House GOP conference — already have full access to the depositions through their membership on one of the three panels leading the impeachment inquiry. During the depositions, Republican lawyers are given the same amount of time to question witnesses as Democratic counsels[/quote][url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/23/impeachment-republicans-trump-055688]link[/url]