Government investigations and impeachment inquiries have relied on secrecy and are usually not conducted in complete public view, said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., during a Sunday television interview.
Himes appeared on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” where he was asked about Republican claims that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was withholding valuable evidence.
“I often don’t see documents until well after I would like to,” Himes said. “The previous impeachment inquiries of [Richard] Nixon and of [Bill] Clinton — the Congress was handed a fully done investigation.”
“We’re doing that now and an investigation doesn’t happen in the light of day,” he added. “But, I will tell you that there will be open hearings.”
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Himes also said any information that wasn’t classified eventually will find its way into the hands of the public and promised that all Americans would be able to access the fruits of the Democrats’ investigation.
“Every transcript, after they’re scrubbed for classified information, will be released publicly and this will ultimately be all out there for the American people to see,” he said.
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“And, what the American people will see is that there is not one word of testimony, written or spoken, which contradicts the notion that the president used the assets of the United States — military aid, a White House meeting- to advance his political interests,” Himes added.
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Himes refused to say when the first public hearing would be or when the first set of documents would be made available, but he signaled that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was encouraging the Democrats not to waste time.
“My belief is that the speaker of the House would like to get this wrapped up by the end of the year,” he said. “I think that’s probably possible.”
