Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the chair of the House Republican Conference, on Friday pressed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to release transcripts of the closed-door hearings held as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
Ms. Cheney made the request in a letter sent on the heels of the House of Representatives voting to formalize the impeachment proceedings initiated weeks earlier.
“Despite the vote in the House on October 31, House Democrats continue to conduct the partisan effort to impeach the President in secret,” Ms. Cheney wrote in the letter.
“Your duty to the Constitution and the American people, as well as fundamental fairness, requires that you immediately release the full transcripts of all depositions taken since you pronounced the beginning of an impeachment inquiry on September 24, 2019,” she added.
House members voted nearly along party lines Thursday to move forward with the impeachment inquiry, passing a resolution outlining plans to advance proceedings and hold them in public.
Lawmakers have already interviewed several witnesses as part of the inquiry, which was triggered by revelations about Mr. Trump asking his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, a front-runner in the 2020 Democratic presidential race.
Republicans opposed to the impeachment inquiry have raised concerns about the proceedings being held away from the public’s view, among other complaints.
Members of the House should be given “full and unredacted transcripts” of the depositions, Ms. Cheney said in her letter.
Reached for comment by The Washington Times, a spokesperson for Mrs. Pelosi noted that House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam P. Schiff, California Democrat, said following Thursday’s vote that the transcripts from depositions already held as part of the impeachment inquiry could be released to the public as soon as next week.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.