Impeachment inquiry update: Chaos at the Capitol!

IMPEACHMENT. 2020 ELECTION. WASHINGTON. AND MORE FROM THE POLITICS WORLD.

Wednesday, October 23

About two dozen House Republicans enter a secure room, called a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), where the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees have taken private depositions in the impeachment inquiry at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 23, 2019 in Washington, D.C.

The closed doors have been opened... by a GOP protest. Plus, there are new polling numbers out on impeachment inquiry support.

Republican lawmakers have written, spoken and tweeted in protest of the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

But you know what they say: Actions speak louder than words.

Happy Wednesday, OnPolitics readers. We're wrapping up one of the most dramatic days yet in the House Democrats' inquiry of Trump.

GOP stormed the gate

About two dozen Republican lawmakers protested how House Democrats are conducting the impeachment inquiry by storming a closed deposition at the Capitol complex. They delayed testimony of Laura Cooper, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, for five hours.

•	Republicans gave speeches in the hallway and then pushed through the confines of the Capitol complex basement to make their way into the secure room.
•	Under House rules, only members of the inquiring committees and their staffers are allowed in the private sessions.
•	Republicans complained about a lack of transparency. "The American people understand fairness and they instinctively know that what is happening here is not fair," said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
•	Cooper is expected to be answering questions about how military aid was withheld from Ukraine as Trump sought the investigation of the Bidens.

House to Pentagon: Hand over the docs

Meanwhile, Pentagon lawyers continue to review thousands of pages of documents subpoenaed by the House, but said they will not release material if the White House counsel asserts executive privilege.

•	Committee leaders sent a letter today to John Sullivan, the deputy secretary of state, restating their demand for subpoenaed documents that the department has refused to provide.
•	They said that the continued refusal to comply with their subpoena could be considered obstruction of Congress.

More important political headlines

•	'Human scum:' Donald Trump has harsh comments for 'Never Trumper' Republicans
•	Support for Trump impeachment rises as 59% say he pursued personal interests in Ukraine, poll finds
•	Trump and Biden have called impeachment a 'lynching.' Here's why that's not OK
•	Key takeaways from Ukraine diplomat Bill Taylor's 'explosive' opening statement