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One day after Ambassador William Taylor testified before a House impeachment inquiry that Donald Trump and members of his administration had explicitly confirmed that they were withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine until the Ukrainian president publicly announced an investigation of Trump's potential election opponent, over two dozen House Republicans pushed their way into the House's sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, in an effort to disrupt the testimony of the next witness, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper. Cooper's testimony is expected to center on the illegality of Trump's move to block the Congress-appropriated military aid, regardless of what he was seeking in return.
The ramifications, even aside from the "white riot" implications of House Republicans violating national security protocols to disrupt House efforts to investigate criminal activity by the party's leader, are severe. Mieke Eoyang of the think tank Third Way explained the repercussions of unauthorized access to the SCIF and of House Republicans bringing their own electronic devices into the space rather than checking them with security personnel. To protect against the very real possibility of malware on any of those devices, the facility must now be closed and resecured in a long, nontrivial process.
House Republicans nonetheless are showing contempt for those national security concerns. Rep. Matt Gaetz, Rep. Mark Walker, and Rep. Andy Biggs tweeted from inside the facility. Gaetz and Walker later claimed those tweets were posted by staff—even if that were so, it would demonstrate that those members were communicating with staff outside the SCIF while inside, itself a violation.
House Republican claims that Democrats are conducting a "secret" impeachment are simply false. The initial step of secure testimony from witnesses is being done in a secure facility because in many cases it includes information about diplomatic exchanges and other potentially classified communications; Republican members of each of the three committees focused on the inquiry have been present throughout. The next steps, including further public testimony, debate on the articles of impeachment, if any, and an actual impeachment trial held in the Republican-led Senate, are all public.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a number of available options for discipling those that violated national security procedures, from formal censure to the leveling of fines. The severity of the breach makes discipline likely.
The office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was reportedly told in advance that members would be storming the secure space and approved the action. It is therefore possible that McCarthy may himself be included in any House-approved disciplinary actions.
More reactions as events continue to unfold:
