Republicans are still desperate to stop House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry targeting President Donald Trump, and their efforts are still coming up short. It’s emerged recently that House Republican leaders have been considering placing none other than loudmouthed Trump shill Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on the House Intelligence Committee, where he could obstruct the investigation at will. The problem is, as one reporter pointed out — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has the final say on who joins the intel panel, considering it’s a “select” committee, and not just any. Who really expects Pelosi would be keen on accepting the incendiary Jordan into the duly proceeding impeachment probe?
Chad Pergram of Fox News explained:
‘GOPers tinking w/idea of moving Jordan to Intel Cmte for impeachment battle. Intel will likely have more sway. But GOP would have to move one of its [members] off to make way for Jordan. Possibilities are retiring GOPers Hurd/Conaway. On prospective move of Jordan to Intel Cmte for impeachment, GOPers trying to get the best matchup. But Intel Cmte is a Select Cmte. Its [members] are approved by the Spkr. Would Pelosi block such a move by GOPers? GOP would likely protest if Pelosi did so.’
Symbolizing her own stance, Pelosi retweeted a message on Tuesday from Maryland Congressman John Sarbanes that read:
‘With only one year left until the 2020 election, Republicans in Washington seem more committed to protecting the President than protecting our country and the integrity of our elections.’
Republican protests haven’t stopped Pelosi and other Democratic leaders yet. Recently, they even staged the stunt of barging into a secure hearing with their electronic devices in hand, and at least some of them stayed put long enough to order pizza. That group’s leaders included Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fl.), Steve King (Iowa), and others, who together completely ignored the precedent for private hearings that their very own party participated in. When Republicans led the Benghazi investigation — which Jordan participated in — they held plenty of private hearings.
Just recently, the House approved a formal resolution for procedures for going forward with the impeachment inquiry, which included provisions for public hearings. Although investigators have already heard from a number of key witnesses, they’re still targeting more. Just this Tuesday, they requested testimony from acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, although considering the precedent of the Trump team flatly refusing to cooperate and then complaining that they don’t have a voice in the process, that’s likely not the end of that.
The best that Trump’s had on his own time is to try and enact his alternative facts simply by repeating them on Twitter enough times. Lately, he’s been insisting that a whistleblower whose complaint sparked the impeachment inquiry have their identity be formally revealed, although he’s also quipped that the whistleblower should be executed. In other words, the president of the United States is engaging in witness intimidation yet again.
Republicans have yet to mount any kind of substantive, anywhere near collective opposition to the president’s behavior. When faced with the question of whether they think his scheme to get dirt on the Bidens from Ukraine was appropriate, one Republican Congressman headbutted a camera.
