Members of Congress Demand Release of Committee Rules for Unauthorized Impeachment Inquiry

GILBERT, ARIZONA – Last week, Congressman Biggs and 76 Members of Congress sent a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, and Acting House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney to demand the release of the rules that are governing the depositions and transcribed interviews being conducted by these three committees. Congressman Biggs released the following statement:

"Adam Schiff and other House leaders have held their unauthorized impeachment inquiry under the cloak of secrecy. They will not release the rules by which they are conducting these proceedings, nor will they give the American people the transparency they deserve. My colleagues and I have attempted to attend hearings and read the interview transcripts, but we have been denied access every time. It is time that Adam Schiff and his colleagues stop their charade of injustice. We must hold these hearings in the open and give the President the due process afforded to every other American citizen."

Read the text of the letter below:

October 18, 2019

The Honorable Adam Schiff The Honorable Eliot Engel
Chairman Chairman
House Permanent Select Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Intelligence 2170 Rayburn House Office Building
Capitol Visitor Center HVC-304 Washington, D.C. 20515
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney
Acting Chairwoman
Committee on Oversight and Reform
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Schiff, Chairman Engel, and Acting Chairwoman Maloney:

We write to demand the release of the rules that are governing the depositions and transcribed interviews being conducted by the joint action of your three committees. The secrecy in which these depositions and interviews are being conducted, and the lack of clarity on the rules that govern attendance and access to records, are deeply concerning in the context of such a serious inquiry.

You have consistently denied non-committee Members their right to attend these depositions and interviews without specifying any authority to do so. House regulations clearly permit all House members to attend depositions.[1] You have consistently denied the right of non-committee members to view the transcripts of depositions and interviews without specifying any authority to do so. These transcripts are committee records. Committee records that are the property of the whole House and under House rules, no Member can be denied access to committee records.[2]

Please immediately release any rules that have been adopted in addition to existing standing committee rules by no later than October 22, 2019. We urge you to give this matter your immediate attention.

Sincerely,

1. Andy Biggs
2. Kevin McCarthy
3. Steve Scalise
4. Liz Cheney
5. Tom Emmer
6. Mark Meadows
7. Matt Gaetz
8. Thomas Massie
9. Steve Chabot
10. Michael Waltz
11. Tom McClintock
12. David Rouzer
13. Tim Burchett
14. John Rutherford
15. Mo Brooks
16. Denver Lee Riggleman III
17. Andy Harris
18. Ted Budd
19. Randy Weber
20. Scott DesJarlais
21. Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S.
22. Ron Wright
23. Alex X. Mooney
24. Debbie Lesko
25. Ben Cline
26. Van Taylor
27. Michael Cloud
28. Louie Gohmert
29. Troy Balderson
30. Roger Williams
31. Roger Marshall, M.D.
32. Gary Palmer
33. John Shimkus
34. Mark Green
35. John Rose
36. Russ Fulcher
37. Jeff Duncan
38. Ken Calvert
39. Doug Lamborn
40. Bradley Byrne
41. Jason Smith
42. Brian Babin
43. Steve King
44. Warren Davidson
45. Ralph Abraham, M.D.
46. Mike Johnson (ASB)
47. Trent Kelly
48. Trey Hollingsworth
49. Richard Hudson
50. Virginia Foxx
51. David Schweikert
52. Jody Hice
53. Lance Gooden
54. Steve Womack
55. Ralph Norman
56. Mike Kelly
57. Brett Guthrie
58. Robert Aderholt
59. Barry Loudermilk
60. Fred Keller
61. Michael C. Burgess, M.D.
62. Glenn Grothman
63. Guy Reschenthaler
64. John Joyce, M.D.
65. Bill Flores
66. Jack Bergman
67. Dan Meuser
68. Chuck Fleischmann
69. Jackie Walorski
70. Daniel Webster
71. David P. Roe, M.D.
72. Earl L. ‘Buddy' Carter
73. Jim Banks
74. Tim Walberg
75. Ted S. Yoho, DVM
76. Jodey Arrington
77. Doug Lamborn