Oh, Boy Another Brooks Brothers Riot!

A gang of Republican thugs that varied in number between between 6 and 20 and led by clownish Floridian Matt Gaetz, staged a noisy disruptive sit-in in the secure hearing room (SCIF-- Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility), refusing to allow a scheduled deposition in the impeachment investigation-- which have been devastating for their Regime-- to continue. They breached House rules by bringing their phones into the secure area and Gaetz, who is an obese alcoholic with a long police record to start with, ordered pizzas and coke and is daring Democrats to have him arrested and carted out of the room. It was like a meeting of the Freedom Caucus featuring all the Trumpist nuts, like Mark Meadows (NC), Steve Scalise (LA), Andy Biggs (AZ), Mark Walker (NC) Louie Gohmert (TX), Steve King (IA) and Gym Jordan (OH). As Ted Lieu pointed out, "When you don't have the law or the facts you attack and disrupt the process. And you may wonder why is it happening now? Because Bill Taylor gave a devastating opening statement yesterday. They're freaked out. They're trying to stop this investigation." Jim Himes (D-CT), one of the top members of the Intelligence Committee, told me "It was kind or absurd. Especially since they disrupted the many Republicans who were in the deposition along with Republican counsel. It’s all just a ploy to avoid focus on the President’s abuses of power." Matt Cartwright (D-PA) didn't want to discuss it at all. He told me that "it's a sophomoric distraction to take attention away from the devastating Taylor testimony" and warned me that if I "write a post about it, it’s a victory for Gaetz." (Come on, that photo of Gaetz, day dreaming about AOC, up top is a victory?)

Former Democratic congressman Alan Grayson from Orlando noted that "A lot of Republicans support Donald Trump even though Trump is a putz. Gaetz supports Trump because he’s a putz. (And I leave it up to you to decide to whom “he” refers in that sentence.)" Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told me that "The Gucci rioters were just trying to distract America from Ambassador Bill Taylor’s devastating testimony yesterday. With no substantive answer to the overwhelming evidence of the Ukraine shakedown, the GOP is now left with pathetic stunts that violate the rules of the House and make a mockery of the honorable pantheon of real civil disobedience heroes. This was the only sit-in protest in American history designed to cover up presidential high crimes and misdemeanors and aid foreign despots. When I saw a bunch of GOP members chortling over pepperoni pizza about their heroic obstruction of the work of Congress, I realized Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King would be turning over in their graves. What a fraud!" The details of Bill Taylor's testimony was deadly for the Trumpists since it entirely blew apart their absurd "no quid pro quo" argument. They don't want two days in a row of that kind of talk, so they refused to allow deputy assistant secretary of defense Laura Cooper to testify.

Over half of the Republican freaks who made a big show of barging in and acting like barnyard animals are actually members of the Oversight or Foreign Affairs committees, which means if they haven't been at the depositions it's because they were busy doing something else-- like calling campaign contributors-- or too lazy. They're certainly all entitled to be at all the depositions. The hissy fit was just staged to make Trump feel like he has some support in the House.

Saleha Mohsin, Jennifer Jacobs and Josh Wingrove reported on the GOP fit for Bloomberg by pointing out that Trump had advance knowledge and supported the stunt. They wrote that "During a nearly two-hour meeting, which focused mostly on the impeachment inquiry, lawmakers shared their plans to storm into the secure room… Trump supported the action, saying he wanted the transcripts released because they will exonerate him." As you know, the transcripts are far more likely to send Trump to prison than to exonerate him.

House Republicans send out their best to protest impeachment-- Louie and Matt

I got this on background from an Intelligence Committee official:

After Tuesday’s devastating testimony by Ambassador Taylor, over two dozen House Republican Members sought to prevent another witness from cooperating by forcing their way into the Intelligence Committee spaces in violation of house deposition rules. The stunt, in service of the President’s demand that they 'fight harder' to obstruct a legitimate impeachment inquiry, has meant that the witness has had to wait for hours for them to leave. They engage in this circus-like behavior because they can’t defend the President’s egregious misconduct. The House Parliamentarian has ruled that these members are in violation of House deposition rules.

And in a major security breach, these Republican Members brought their electronics into the secure facility (SCIF). Although several members later removed their devices, after being advised by the Sergeant at Arms and security personnel that there were members still in possession of electronic devices, some Republican members refused to completely remove them.

It is worth remembering this Gowdy quote during Benghazi: "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."

Meanwhile, the chairs of the three committees heading the Ukraine aspect of the impeachment-- Adam Schiff (Intelligence Committee), Eliot Engel (Foreign Affairs Committee) and Carolyn Maloney (acting chair of Oversight Committee) sent this letter to the Trumpist Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan.

As part of the House of Representatives’ ongoing impeachment inquiry, our Committees have now obtained detailed information identifying specific documents in the possession, custody, or control of the Department of State that are directly and highly relevant to the inquiry.

These documents include information central to the inquiry’s core area of investigation: the President’s efforts to press Ukraine to initiate investigations that would benefit his personal and political interests, and not the national interest.  These records include, but are not limited to:

• Written readouts and write-ups of meetings and conversations that document activity and conduct under investigation by the Committees;
• Email correspondence that pertains directly to matters under investigation that occurred both before and after President Trump’s July 25, 2019, call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky;
• Diplomatic cables that relate, among other issues, to the President’s decision to withhold vital military aid to Ukraine and document interactions with Ukrainian officials about matters under investigation;
• Text messages and electronic communications, including from personal devices, from witnesses in the inquiry; and
• Memoranda to file drafted by Department officials, including memoranda that document efforts to press Ukraine to initiate politically-motivated investigations to benefit President Trump and that raise concerns about false representations by the Department to the Committees and that document efforts to intimidate or silence employees.

“The Committees consider the refusal to comply with a duly authorized congressional subpoena as obstruction of the lawful functions of Congress and of the impeachment inquiry. Because the Committees have gathered evidence about the direct relevance of these documents, including highly significant information contained in these materials that pertain to allegations that the President abused the power of his office for personal political benefit, the Committees may draw the inference that their nonproduction indicates that these documents support the allegations against the President and others.

Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) reminded us today that "Trump abused his power and threatened our national security when he attempted to extort Ukraine into investigating a political rival. Instead of upholding their oath to defend the Constitution, House Republicans have decided to defend the President. They complain about the process, but remain silent on the President’s crimes. This is a shameful abdication of responsibility, and a historical embarrassment to our country."

Early this morning, the White House officially responded to yesterday's childish and ineffectual Republican Party tantrum and pizza party on Capitol Hill: