To the Editor:

On Wednesday, Oct. 23 — the day after William Taylor gave damning testimony about the Trump Administration’s quid pro quo on Ukrainian aid in exchange for information which it might use against a possible political opponent — several dozen Republican members of the House stormed the secure room where the three committees (Intelligence, Oversight, Foreign Affairs) conducting the impeachment inquiry were meeting. They attempted to intimidate a witness and willfully broke House rules by bringing electronic devices into a room where they are expressly forbidden.

Thirteen of the Republicans who participated in this lawless, disingenuous, grandstanding effort to discredit the process are already allowed to attend the meetings — including our own Representative, Mark Meadows! In fact, 47 (one out of every four) Republicans can attend all the impeachment meetings by virtue of being a member on one of the three committees. Republicans have participated in every single private deposition.

The meetings are being held behind closed doors to ensure that witness testimony independently corroborates each other’s reporting of events. Otherwise critics would, rightly, be able to claim that witnesses put words in one another’s mouth by virtue of being able to read or watch each other’s testimony. This process of private testimony is consistent with the proceedings used in both Nixon’s and Clinton’s impeachment efforts. Public testimony and questioning come later.

It is shameful that members of the country’s highest legislative body would be willing to flagrantly break House rules. It is even more shameful that President Trump was told about the stunt ahead of time and did nothing to stop it. It is a telling sign that they are scared and getting desperate. With more witnesses coming forward who discredit the President’s claim that there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with the Ukraine, Republicans seem to feel they have to resort to hooliganism, bullying and disruption in order to distract us from the facts which are emerging. Unable to find legitimate, credible ways to defend the President, Republicans have fallen back on creating turmoil and confusion to sidetrack the discussion. We should be able to expect more professional behavior from our elected representatives, including Rep. Mark Meadows!

Maria Chasins

Cashiers