A House Republican who’s been parroting GOP complaints about the impeachment probe’s “closed-door” processes admitted on Tuesday that he hasn’t actually participated in any hearings–despite being allowed to attend them.
“No, I haven’t gone to those,” Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL), a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, told CNN anchor Poppy Harlow. “We’ve had discussions in our Foreign Affairs committee on other aspects of what President Trump is doing, so I’ve been involved in those, not in these. I see these as kind of a sideshow.”
“Why?” Harlow asked.
“Because it’s not an official inquiry in impeachment. It is something that Nancy Pelosi started without a vote,” Yoho responded. “And I know it’s not constitutional that they have a vote, but it should follow the precedents that has [sic] been set in the last three impeachments.”
When the CNN anchor pressed Yoho on his absence from the deposition of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman that was underway Tuesday, the lawmaker said he has “other responsibilities” and repeated that the investigation was a “sideshow.”
A skeptical Harlow pointed out that for all of Yoho’s complaints about the investigation, he wasn’t actually taking the time to participate in any of it.
“I understand you have other important responsibilities, but respectfully, congressman, as glad as I am that you’re on this show, you don’t need to be on this show,” she said. “You could be in there deposing Lt. Col. Vindman.”
Yoho said he plans to attend Vindman’s testimony and that he’s got questions “written for him.”
“So you are going to this deposition after you’re off the air with us, is that right?” Harlow asked.
“As soon as I’m off the air, yes, m’am,” the Republican said.
Yoho made similar comments to a group of reporters on Capitol Hill last week, even declaring that he was “truly convinced in three weeks” President Donald Trump’s potential impeachment “won’t even be talked about.”
Watch Yoho below:
Republican on House Foreign Affairs Committee says he hasn't gone to any of the hearings in the impeachment investigation. pic.twitter.com/moTHrrXGDa
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 29, 2019
After not attending any impeachment probe hearings, GOPer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee promises CNN anchor to go to the latest hearing "as I'm soon as I'm off the air." pic.twitter.com/0hur6dlEx8
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 29, 2019
Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
