Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN-06), chair of the Republican National Congressional Committee, said the House impeachment resolution “doesn’t change a thing” when it comes to the transparency of the process.
House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), passed a resolution Thursday morning that formalizes the “rules” for going forward with an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Just two Democrats joined every single Republican in voting against the measure.
“The process has been completely flawed. First off, it started on September 24 I think is when Nancy Pelosi said they were going to start this inquiry. It’s been entirely closed, it’s been behind closed doors,” Emmer said on WCCO Sunday morning.
“In teasing this segment, you suggested it’s going to transition to more public hearings now. That’s not what that resolution was last week,” Emmer continued.
He said the resolution “doesn’t change a thing,” noting that it doesn’t require Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) to release any transcripts from the inquiry.
“It’s time for this process behind closed doors to end. You’ve got to put it all out in the open. I don’t know what they have to hide. All of America should be able to see this and the administration I think would welcome that,” Emmer said.
Host Esme Murphy then asked Emmer if he was “really comfortable with the substance of what’s going on here.”
“There is no quid pro quo. There’s none,” Emmer said and pointed to the fact that the transcript of President Trump’s phone call with Ukraine was released the day after the inquiry was announced.
“They’ve wanted to get rid of this president from the day he was elected. The articles of impeachment were filed by Representative Al Green from Texas in December of 2017. They had two years and $32 million with the Mueller report—that didn’t accomplish what they set out to do,” Emmer continued. “So now they started an impeachment process claiming there was a quid pro quo. There isn’t one so what they’re doing now is conducting so-called hearings behind closed doors, out of view of any American—and, by the way, the majority of us in Congress—and they’re going to try to find something that they can claim is an impeachable offense. That’s not the way this should be handled. Again, what are they hiding?”
Watch the full interview below:
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
