Judge Andrew Napolitano, the senior legal analyst for Fox News, said that House Democrats are following the impeachment inquiry rules that were set by Republicans in 2015 when they held control of the lower chamber.
“I read the House rules, and as frustrating as it may be to have these hearings going on behind closed doors, the hearings for which Congressman Schiff is presiding, they are consistent with the rules,” said Napolitano on the TV network’s program, Fox & Friends on Thursday.
In addition, Judge Napolitano noted that the manner in which the House Committees are conducting the “initial level of inquiry” is similar to the witness interviews during the impeachment proceedings involving President Richard Nixon and President Bill Clinton. He said the initial questioning of witnesses can be “done in secret.”
He made his comments after a group of House Republican lawmakers marched into the secure facility at the Capitol building where a witness, Pentagon official Laura Cooper was set to testify in the impeachment inquiry. The Republicans complained that the House Democrats are conducting a “sham” impeachment process because they are interviewing witnesses behind closed doors.
