Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) mocked Republican lawmakers on Wednesday for storming House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) secret impeachment lair, belittling their call for transparency by labeling their effort a “little flash mob.”
Republican lawmakers, frustrated by the House Democrats’ lack of transparency in their endless pursuit of impeachment, stormed the secret room where Schiff has been conducting the closed-door impeachment inquiry. Schiff has been interviewing officials outside of the public’s view in a classified room in the Capitol Hill basement, despite the fact that classified material is not being discussed. His move has enhanced the Democrats’ ability to control the impeachment narrative, allowing lawmakers “to emerge from the basement bunker and selectively leak snippets of the interviews to reporters.”
“Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) told reporters outside the room that he has served in third world countries more transparent than the way Schiff was handling the impeachment inquiry,” as Breitbart News reported.
Ocasio-Cortez, whose calls for President Trump’s impeachment preceded her role as a congresswoman, mocked the Republican lawmakers’ collective effort to demand transparency.
“Important to remember that GOP&Dem members have been part of impeachment depositions this whole time. All you need is to sit on the relevant committees,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote, calling their effort a “little flash mob.”
“If these guys are so mad, maybe they should take their little flash mob to the @GOPLeader who didn’t assign them to the task,” she added:
House Republicans, as well as the White House, have repeatedly called for House Democrats to hold a full House vote on the impeachment inquiry, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refused to do.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) also belittled her Republican colleagues for demanding transparency and slammed them for reportedly bringing cell phones into the secure area.
“This is what happens when people elect members more interested in media hits than the protection of our national security,” she wrote.
“FYI to everyone who is concerned about my security clearances, I at least know to not bring my cell phones to SCIF and follow protocol,” she added:
The room was reportedly swept for “potential security breaches.” However, Schiff’s interviews with officials regarding the impeachment inquiry, specifically, do not contain classified material–one of the main reasons Republican lawmakers are furious with the chairman’s decision to hold the meetings in secrecy.