Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he hasn’t heard “a single thing” President Trump could be impeached for during witness testimony in the House impeachment inquiry.
“As someone who’s been in that deposition room a lot, I have not heard a single thing that you could possibly impeach the president of the United States for,” Zeldin said in an interview with radio host John Catsimatidis on AM 970 The Answer in New York.
Zeldin also defended lawmakers who recently entered the secure deposition room.
“These members weren’t coming in because they wanted to stop the deposition. They were coming in because … they wanted to listen to the deposition,” he said.
“You have members who are just thirsty for an update on what is happening inside these depositions that they have been locked out of. The lack of transparency, the lack of legitimacy, credibility, fairness has been a huge issue,” Zeldin added.
The House Foreign Affairs, Oversight and Reform, and Intelligence committees are leading the investigation into Trump over his dealings with Ukraine.{mosads}
Republicans have complained about the closed-door nature of witness testimony, and a group of them recently barged into the secure hearing room in protest.
In response, Democrats have defended the proceedings. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) recently wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter that it is important to conduct the interviews privately so witnesses cannot coordinate testimony.
He also said interview transcripts will be made public when they do not “jeopardize investigative equities.”