Requiring that all impeachment inquiry related hearings, witness interviews and communications, document productions and examinations, proceedings, and other related work shall be done in an open setting and in public view.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 633 Requiring that all impeachment inquiry related hearings, witness interviews and communications, document productions and examinations, pro- ceedings, and other related work shall be done in an open setting and in public view. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 16, 2019 Mr. BROOKS of Alabama (for himself, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. PERRY, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. BABIN, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. MOONEY of West Vir- ginia, Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. YOHO, Mr. ROY, Mr. POSEY, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. CRAWFORD, and Mrs. LESKO) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on Ethics, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Requiring that all impeachment inquiry related hearings, wit- ness interviews and communications, document produc- tions and examinations, proceedings, and other related work shall be done in an open setting and in public view. Whereas under article 1, section 2 of the Constitution, ‘‘the House of Representatives shall . . . have the sole Power of Impeachment’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Oct 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR633.IH HR633 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 633 IH Whereas at a press conference on September 24, 2019, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, stated, ‘‘I’m an- nouncing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry’’; Whereas Speaker Pelosi declared that she was ‘‘directing our six committees to proceed with their investigation under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry’’; Whereas there has been no formal vote on the House Floor, or in any of the six committees directed by Speaker Pelosi, to authorize any impeachment inquiry; Whereas, on October 3, 2019, the Permanent Select Com- mittee on Intelligence of the House, the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House held a classified joint interview in which they received testimony from Ambas- sador Kurt Volker, the former Department of State Spe- cial Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, under the guise of the ‘‘impeachment inquiry’’; Whereas it is wholly inappropriate to conduct any impeach- ment inquiry in a classified setting, and the American public deserves complete transparency from the House of Representatives when conducting impeachment inquiries, including full and complete public access any hearings, witness interviews and statements, documents produc- tions and examinations, and any and all proceedings re- lated to an impeachment inquiry; Whereas sunlight is the best disinfectant, and transparency is the best remedy against partisan politics and injustice; and Whereas an impeachment inquiry behind the veil of secrecy and through closed classified committee hearings under- VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Oct 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR633.IH HR633 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 633 IH mines the open and transparent process afforded to each Member and the constituents they represent and impedes their review of all evidence related to impeachment as that they can make their own judgment on the impeach- ment merits: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That— 1 (1) the House of Representatives disapproves of 2 the actions led by the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi of Cali- 3 fornia, to conduct work related to matters of im- 4 peachment in a closed and classified setting; 5 (2) any and all impeachment inquiry related 6 hearings, witness interviews and communications, 7 document productions and examinations, pro- 8 ceedings, and other work related shall be done in an 9 open setting and in public view; and 10 (3) the Speaker and the chair of each com- 11 mittee engaged in an impeachment inquiry of any 12 kind shall give each Member of the House a min- 13 imum of 48-hours notice before conducting any im- 14 peachment related matter. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Oct 16, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR633.IH HR633 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS