Republicans came back from the break in the impeachment inquiry testimony of former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch on Friday with an obvious bit of planned political theater carried out for the benefit of people who do not know the rules under which these hearings are being conducted. Just a few minutes into his 45 minutes of questioning, Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican on the committee, tried to turn the questioning over to Rep. Elise Stefanik. Problem: According to the rules of these hearings, Nunes has to either use his 45 minutes himself or turn it over to the Republican counsel. He cannot give time to another member of the committee.
That rule is well known because every single member of the committee got a memo covering the rules. Specifically, “As specified in H. Res.660, the Chair and Ranking Member may not yield time to other Members during these extended question periods, though either may yield time to Majority and Minority Committee Counsels, respectively.” That rule was also widely covered when Rep. Jim Jordan was assigned to the committee at the last minute. Jordan was put in to be an aggressive defender for Trump, and media coverage noted that this was the case even though he would only be able to use his five minutes and however much of other rank-and-file members’ five minutes that they gave him.
As Nunes and Stefanik launched their bit of political theater, House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff correctly cut Stefanik off under the rules, over her outraged objections. Stefanik said, “What is the interruption for this time? It is our time—“
Nunes pretended innocence, saying, “I just recognized...” But Schiff wasn’t having it, saying, “Under the House Resolution 660, you are not allowed to yield time except to the minority counsel.”
Stefanik joined Nunes in pretending not to know the rules of the hearing and again tried to return to questions, as Schiff used his gavel, declaring her not recognized. “This is the fifth time,” she said, with fascinating precision, “you have interrupted members of Congress.” It’s almost like she was ready with a number to try to make Schiff look bad! Nunes again insisted on his right to break the rules—rules he wasn’t acknowledging existed—and when Schiff reiterated, “You or minority counsel are recognized,” Nunes huffed out an outraged “All right” and turned questioning over to the Republican lawyer.
And you know what? Minority counsel Stephen Castor had his questions all ready to go. Because it was just political theater, and he knew all along that he would have this time.
You know how else we know this was theater? Because Republicans put Gym Jordan on the committee to be the star attack dog, but when Nunes was offering up someone to be shut down by Schiff, it was not the attack dog— it was the lone Republican woman on the committee. The plan was to get sympathy in the “Democrats are terrible autocrats” line of attack, not to actually put up a fight to get anyone but the counsel to get to ask questions.
They’re not just running cheap stunts. They’re running obvious cheap stunts, and anyone in the media who bites should be shamed and ashamed.