Letter to the Hon. Adam Schiff, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence - Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans Denied Access to Impeachment Docs Unless Supervised by Democrats

Letter

Mister Chairman:

To date, your Ukraine "joint investigation" has operated almost exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

So I was shocked to be informed yesterday that you will not be providing deposition and interview transcripts from this supposed "joint inquiry" to the Foreign Affairs Committee. Your staff claims that the only way we will have access to the transcripts is in your offices, during designated hours, under the personal supervision and monitoring of a majority staffer.

It is outrageous and unjustifiable to deny us those basic documents, which are critical to our ability to meaningfully prepare for and participate in this investigation. We require the same access to the same documents in the same format, as is enjoyed by you and your staff.

Foreign Affairs is an intelligence-receiving committee with a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), a classified computer system, and a full-time non-partisan Security Officer. There is no legitimate reason to deny us the transcripts.

I urge you to remedy this procedural injustice immediately, so that I am not forced to pursue public efforts to correct it, including by seeking a privileged vote on the House Floor.