Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has long been known as one of President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters in Congress, tried to crash a closed-door hearing of the House impeachment committee Monday and was quickly given the heave-ho by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
Former Trump administration Russia adviser Fiona Hill is giving a sworn deposition before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight committees which are leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump’s actions with foreign aid for Ukraine, and it was feared that Gaetz would immediately report back to the White House if allowed into the hearing. Also, Gaetz sits on none of the relevant committees.
CNN’s Manu Raju tweeted out this report shortly after Gaetz was given the boot:
Matt Gaetz emerges from closed-door interview with Fiona Hill saying he was kicked out by House Democrats bc he’s not a member of the three committees conducting the interview. He said he consulted with the House parliamentarian, who ruled that he could not be there.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 14, 2019
Gaetz sharply criticized Adam Schiff, saying it’s a “sham process”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 14, 2019
Gaetz also stood before reporters after it was ruled he could not attend the deposition and whined some more:
Rep. Matt Gaetz tried to attend the Fiona Hill deposition, and said Adam Schiff told him he wasn’t allowed because he’s not on the committees of jurisdiction. “It’s not like I’m on the agriculture committee.” pic.twitter.com/wi3417g4ol
— Natalie Andrews (@nataliewsj) October 14, 2019
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said there’s a reason Gaetz wasn’t allowed to remain in the committee room as Hill testified:
I suspect there is concern that Gaetz entered the room to be Trump’s eyes and ears. https://t.co/pX8SOzzKMU
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) October 14, 2019
Keep in mind this is the very same Matt Gaetz who had this to say about Trump and the Ukraine scandal which has led to an impeachment inquiry:
“What we see in this impeachment is a kangaroo court, and Chairman Schiff is acting like a malicious Captain Kangaroo.”
Anyone that isn’t smart enough to know that “kangaroo court” has nothing to do with Captain Kangaroo shouldn’t even be allowed to enter the Capitol Building, let alone into a important hearing.
Nice try, Matty. Maybe you can go on Fox News and complain to Sean Hannity, who’s also happy to kiss the president’s butt no matter what he says or does.
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