The U.S. House of Representatives must move its impeachment inquiry into the light of day, providing the public with access to full testimony rather than carefully selected leaks.
As Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, recently told The Columbian Editorial Board, “When one party is saying the other party doesn’t get to be part of the investigation, you start to wonder if this is going to be a fair investigation.”
Regardless of whether the inquiry remains behind closed doors or in the open, President Donald Trump undoubtedly will denounce it as a “witch hunt” or a “coup” or a “lynching” — pejoratives he has applied to the inquiry being led by three House committees. Congressional Republicans have joined in criticizing the process, particularly as allegations about the president’s actions become more and more damning. If you can’t defend the findings, you attack the system.
There is nothing new about conducting investigations behind closed doors; previous inquiries — such as those that led to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton and the examination of whether the Trump campaign conspired with Russian agents during the 2016 election — have been conducted by a special counsel. And there is no constitutional requirement that inquiries be conducted in the open — despite such assertions by Trump’s White House counsel.
Thus far, Democrats have kept the investigation under wraps while claiming that secrecy is necessary to get full and accurate testimony from witnesses. But the fact that key points of testimony have been leaked undermines that assertion. Meanwhile, Herrera Beutler says Democratic leaders are attempting to shield House members representing districts where the president remains popular — Democrats who might be vulnerable in the 2020 election.
It is time for the investigation to move beyond political self-interests. A president has been accused of withholding military aid to Ukraine — aid authorized by Congress — while demanding an investigation of a political rival. He has employed shadow diplomacy in the form of Rudy Giuliani to negotiate with foreign powers, and he has urged that congressional subpoenas be ignored.
On Tuesday, Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testified that he had been told the U.S. would withhold aid to that country until Ukrainian officials publicly announced an investigation into Joe Biden and Biden’s son Hunter. “President Trump did insist that President Zelenskiy go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference, and that President Zelenskiy should want to do this himself,” Taylor said.
The foundation for a reasonable impeachment process is solid, but building upon that will require an informed public that is privy to details of the inquiry. The House should hold a vote to move the issue from “inquiry” status to a full investigation, recall witnesses to testify in public, and include Republicans in the process.
“That has to happen here,” Herrera Beutler said. “Otherwise the president’s going to have — in the minds of the American public — he’s going to have the right to say, ‘that’s a total witch hunt.’ If they (Democrats) really believe they can prove it, then why not let us subpoena people?”
With that, Herrera Beutler unknowingly touched upon the underpinnings of the impeachment inquiry. When both Democrats and Republicans can move beyond viewing the issue as “they” and “us” and focus on “we the people,” America will have taken strides to preserve its democracy.
