Mullin, Hern and other Republicans blocked from attending secret testimony

Flanked by about two dozen House Republicans, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fl., argues all GOP lawmakers should have access to closed-door depositions in the impeachment inquiry. Committee rules dictate that only those on the panels conducting the probe can attend.

We usually write about Oklahoma U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin and his energy duties on Capitol Hill. But this week, he and Tulsa congressman Kevin Hern were among the Republicans who marched en masse to the closed-door impeachment hearings held by the House Intelligence Committee chaired by Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff.

They didn’t get very far in attempting to either attend the hearing or read some of the secret testimony.

Later in the morning, Reps. Hern and Mullin again attempted access to the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) with over 40 Members of Congress and were able to gain access to the Intelligence Committee hearing, briefly, before Chairman Adam Schiff ended the hearing.

“Many of my constituents didn’t believe me when I told them that Members of Congress were being barred from access to impeachment materials,” said Rep. Hern. “Oklahomans are being completely shut out of this process – not one of the five representatives in our delegation are on any of the committees participating in the impeachment inquiry. Since this inquiry is happening behind closed doors, there are no Oklahomans with access to important documents, testimonies, and hearings. Instead, three of Congress’s most radical, anti-Trump socialists are there: Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. To watch this process move forward like this is baffling. I urge all Americans to keep fighting, call Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Schiff every day and demand transparency in the process. You deserve to know what’s going on deep in the heart of our Capitol.”

“The most frustrating thing is that we’re talking about impeaching the President of the United States and it’s not transparent,” Mullin said. “Chairman Schiff and the Democrats won’t let other Members of Congress into the hearings or open them up to the public. Instead they are leaking one-sided statements that don’t give us the full picture of what’s happening in the hearings. The past two impeachments, Nixon and Clinton, were open and transparent for the American people to see, but this is nothing more than a political witch hunt.”

Sources included a press release from Rep. Hern.