During the impeachment hearing on Nov. 20, House Intelligence Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) criticized the Democrats, saying that they would have tried to impeach the first president of the United States if they had the chance, and reminded them that George Washington sent his own Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay to Great Britain in 1794 to negotiate with King George III.
“The Democrats fake outrage that President Trump used his own channel to communicate with Ukraine,” Nunes said. “I’ll remind my friends on the other side of the aisle that our first president, George Washington, directed his own diplomatic channels to secure a treaty with Great Britain. If my Democratic colleagues were around in 1794, they’d probably want to impeach him, too.”
Nunez said House Republicans on the committee have called for subpoenas of potential witnesses for the impeachment inquiry, including the anonymous whistleblower that filed a complaint against President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden.
Republicans are seeking documents from Biden’s firm Rosemont Seneca, the whistleblower, and the Democratic National Committee.
“In the interest of some basic level of fairness, we expect you to concur with these subpoenas,” Nunes told House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)
“We take this step because you have failed to ensure fairness and objectivity in this inquiry.”
Nunes submitted a list to Schiff on Nov. 9, but none of the witnesses other than the ones who already testified behind closed doors have been scheduled to testify.
The list included Hunter Biden, the whistleblower, and Democratic National Committee contractor Alexandra Chalupa.
Schiff specifically responded to the request for the whistleblower to testify, saying he wouldn’t allow it. The impeachment process resolution lets Schiff veto witness requests; the requests then go to a full committee vote, but the committee is controlled by Democrats.
Schiff initially said he wanted the whistleblower to testify but changed his mind after it emerged that his staff had contact with the person before the complaint was filed. Schiff has claimed he does not know the identity of the whistleblower.
If witnesses are approved by Schiff, then Nunes is authorized by the resolution to compel “by subpoena or otherwise” the attendance and testimony of any person and the production of books, papers, and documents.
The other witnesses requested by Nunes were being evaluated by Schiff, he said in a response later Nov. 9. Schiff has not given Republicans any updates on the list since then.
The Epoch Times reporter Zachary Steiber contributed to this report.
