Foreign Affairs committee member, Representative Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), along with his impeachment probing colleagues, are sending mixed messages to the American people. The committees thus far have refused to allow Republicans into impeachment hearings, have gone to stratospheric lengths to keep the identities of the “whistleblowers” hidden, and won’t even release transcripts to other members of congress.
Leaks have been all the public has gotten, left to analyze the credibility of the source. Apparently, that may take a complete three-hundred and sixty degree turn. Malinowski told BuzzFeed News, “we’ve had very compelling testimony from a number of the witnesses so far, and in some ways, all of them would make compelling public witnesses.” He continued, “we’re going to have to make some choices in the end [but] think it’ll be very important for the American people to see everything that we are seeing and they will.”
Congressman Malinowski, why the change of heart? President Trump, the GOP, the public and the media have been saying this all along. Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY) took it a step further. Rice told BuzzFeed regarding televising the hearings, “Do it in primetime, so that the majority of Americans can be home watching it – even though most people don’t get their news from TV anymore.”
Rice, who is a former prosecutor, also believes lawyers should be asking the questions, not congress members. “I would not send a civil lawyer in to try a murder case…There is a very specific process here [and] professional lawyers to know how to ask questions, know how to follow up with questions, know how to cross-examine witnesses who may be trying to hide the truth.”
Not to take anything “away from the skill of my colleagues who may be lawyers and may have prosecutorial backgrounds, but I think it’s also important for the public to see that this is not a political issue” added Rice. Not a political issue? Undoubtedly the public looks forward to seeing for itself that it is nothing but a political issue.
