Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik sent a letter to Chairman Adam Schiff from each of the House Intelligence Committee Republicans demanding transparency in the “impeachment inquiry” process. Chairman Schiff has been knowingly withholding documents from the Republicans on the Intelligence Committee, which goes against Rule VII of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
“Knowingly withholding intelligence-related documents from Minority Members on the Committee just because we belong to a different political party is a deliberate attempt to hinder our participation and obstruct transparency in this highly sensitive inquiry,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “Impeachment is not a political buzzword, it is a serious matter in which all Committee members should be fully briefed in order to ensure transparency from the beginning to the end of the process.”
In part, the Members wrote:
“The highly irregular manner in which you are conducting your so-called “impeachment-inquiry” gravely concerns us, as does the fact that you have decreed this matter to be under HPSCI’s jurisdiction despite it lacking any clear intelligence component. Further, given that you have recently acknowledged that the Committee no longer needs to receive testimony from the whistleblower, your “impeachment inquiry” lacks any relationship with the jurisdiction of this Committee. As you are aware, the Committee was established to conduct crucial oversight of the Intelligence Community, and we are increasingly concerned our normal work is being overlooked in favor of partisan activities best suited for another Committee.
We expect you to rectify these concerns and begin planning intelligence-related committee events starting next week.”
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