To summarize
The House is collecting evidence in order to determine whether there are grounds for impeachment
During this initial evidence collecting phase they are holding closed hearings with around 100 House members including 48 Republican House members
One reason is to make it harder for key witnesses to coordinate their accounts of events
A second reason is to protect witnesses from witness intimidation
During these closed hearings Republicans and Democrats get Equal time to question witnesses. Each side gets 45 minutes per round of questioning and the rounds continue until both sides agree they have no more questions.
Both parties have staffers and counsel present during the questioning
The House has invited many witnesses who have refused to appear
Schiff and Pelosi have been saying for weeks now that once this phase is completed they will move onto the public phase in the House. Many of the same witnesses will appear and the closed hearings transcripts will be available to the public
Let us hope McConnell also runs a fair process that is designed to get to the facts

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

1) Schiff himself never met with the Whistleblower. Someone from his staff told him how to file a formal complaint, which they did. What does that have to do with the admitted facts to date by the President and his Chief of staff?

2) The proceedings are secret from the American public, but not from 40+ GOP members of the committees and the GOP Committee attorneys - including 13 of the aggrieved congressmen from yesterdays protest.

3) They don't need to have a traditional vote for the stage of the investigation they are in now. The vote would happen after a report is issued, like it did with Ken Starr submitted his report in 1998. Maybe ask why the DOJ didn't open proceedings when it was informed of the potential crimes?

4) Maybe also ask why the Administration isn't being forthcoming with documents and witnesses. I mean, if they did nothing wrong, then they would want to get this cleared up as quickly as possible, right?

5) Stop watching Fox.

Actually some sane people on Fox News have been saying that the Dems are following the correct process. I bet Napolitano gets hate mail from Trumpsters.

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6097325158001/#sp=show-clips

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

Uh, the impeachment hearings haven't started yet.

When they do, then we'll see if they're televised or secret.

Given the fact that Schiff is horribly compromised, he should recuse or be told to step down. You agree, right?

Schiff is not compromised. Even if everything you wrote were true, it still wouldn’t make him compromised.

Reading through this is exhausting.

So what is Schiff personally met with the whistleblower? So what if he massaged his/her back during the meeting? So what if Schiff WROTE the gd whistleblower report while he was massaging backs?

The report has been verified by all the evidence and testimony that has come out since then! Why are you so hung up on the process and care not about the substance? The REPORT has BEEN VERIFIED.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

Uh, the impeachment hearings haven't started yet.

When they do, then we'll see if they're televised or secret.

Given the fact that Schiff is horribly compromised, he should recuse or be told to step down. You agree, right?

He isn't compromised.

You know who is? Pompeo and Barr. They are directly implicated by the materials made public to date.

Anonymous wrote:

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

1) Schiff himself never met with the Whistleblower. Someone from his staff told him how to file a formal complaint, which they did. What does that have to do with the admitted facts to date by the President and his Chief of staff?

2) The proceedings are secret from the American public, but not from 40+ GOP members of the committees and the GOP Committee attorneys - including 13 of the aggrieved congressmen from yesterdays protest.

3) They don't need to have a traditional vote for the stage of the investigation they are in now. The vote would happen after a report is issued, like it did with Ken Starr submitted his report in 1998. Maybe ask why the DOJ didn't open proceedings when it was informed of the potential crimes?

4) Maybe also ask why the Administration isn't being forthcoming with documents and witnesses. I mean, if they did nothing wrong, then they would want to get this cleared up as quickly as possible, right?

5) Stop watching Fox.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They are Speaker Ryan's rules. Ask him.

Stop worrying. The impeachment hearings will be televised, obviously. The Democrats have even said so.

All the stuff going on right now are the depositions. Patience!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not understand how people do not understand the difference between the laws of our judicial system and the rules of the political system/public opinion.

Due process is a LEGAL concept that applies to people being brought into the US legal system. Trump is not on trial, even if he is brought up for impeachment and IS removed from office by the Senate he still will never have interacted meaningfully with our judicial system! Impeachment is a POLITICAL process to remove a person from a JOB. People are removed from jobs without due process all the time!

You people really need to learn some civics ASAP. One process has nothing to do with the other and just because you watch Law and Order and The First 48 doesn't mean you have any idea what you're talking about when it comes to the non criminal, non judicial impeachment process created and executed by congress.

Plus, the criminal justice system actually does have a process of private investigations behind closed doors. it's called a Grand Jury.

I swear, when it comes to Trump supporters, it really is hard to tell where the dishonesty ends and the stupidity begins, or vice-versa.

And the reason you have closed doors in a Grand Jury is so that a witness can't hear what the other witnesses have said, and then coordinate their testimony.

Trump should be thanking Adam Schiff for providing the framework to allow a fair trial.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

Uh, the impeachment hearings haven't started yet.

When they do, then we'll see if they're televised or secret.

Given the fact that Schiff is horribly compromised, he should recuse or be told to step down. You agree, right?

Recuse? What? Recusal is not a relevant word or phrase since WE ARE NOT IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

Um that is basically my whole point. He isn't a cop and isn't subject to any of the rules cops are subject to. The proceedings are not in secret, they are being held in front of the quarter of the house. There are 50 republicans in there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

Uh, the impeachment hearings haven't started yet.

When they do, then we'll see if they're televised or secret.

Given the fact that Schiff is horribly compromised, he should recuse or be told to step down. You agree, right?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

Uh, the impeachment hearings haven't started yet.

When they do, then we'll see if they're televised or secret.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.

Schiff is not a cop. You know that, right?

It’s pretty suspicious when Schiff was so intimately involved with the initial whistleblower and some of the other witnesses, and then takes the proceedings into secret, without holding a traditional vote. They must’ve been talking about the grandchildren or something

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[i]Outspoken California Rep. Darrell Issa was escorted out of a House deposition on Benghazi on Tuesday after he tried to crash the closed-door panel on Capitol Hill, NBC News reported. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, had no qualms about kicking Issa out of the meeting. Issa previously conducted an investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, but he is not a member of the congressional committee — and after Gowdy confronted him, Issa stormed off. "I'm a prosecutor, we always follow the rules," Gowdy later told NBC News. "[Issa] is not a [Benghazi] committee member and non-committee members are not allowed in the room during the deposition. Those are the rules and we have to follow them, no exceptions made."[i/]

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/Rep-Darrell-Issa-Escorted-Out-of-Benghazi-Panel-307739641.html

Thanks for finding this! Also to remind everyone, the rules they are following now were instituted by that partisan Democrat, Paul Ryan!

Yes! The expectation is that it is all okay for the GOP to implement such rules when the Republicans are in the majority, but when the Dems follow the rules created by the GOP, who are now in the minority, they and all their supporters scream foul. No pun intended, but what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Do the rules include sending your staff member to a foreign nation to talk to the witnesses prior to them coming forward? How about not disclosing you met with a whistleblower a month prior to them coming forward?

They don't PRECLUDE that. There are no rules! This is, once again, NOT A COURT OF LAW.

I am unclear what about meeting with the whistleblower, who is not coming under investigation, has to do with anything.

Even in the far more rigorously regulated criminal justice system cops meet with witnesses long before charges are filed or even investigations are opened.