Rush Limbaugh lies that Republicans aren’t included in closed-door impeachment hearings

Written by Courtney Hagle

Published

On the October 25 edition of his radio show, Rush Limbaugh blatantly lied about the ongoing House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rivals.

Limbaugh claimed Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who is the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is holding depositions that don’t “feature the opposition party” and “everything is being done in private, only selected leaks, you know the drill.”

This claim is one of many falsehoods about the impeachment process circulating in right-wing media circles. In reality, Republicans on the committees that are holding the depositions -- House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight -- are allowed to sit in on depositions and ask questions. Representatives who are not members of the relevant committees are not allowed to sit in on depositions, per House rules. Forty-seven Republicans currently have access to the closed-door depositions and the same information Democrats are receiving. In fact, 13 Republicans who stormed a secure room (SCIF) in order to delay a scheduled deposition of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper already had access to the proceedings.

Rush Limbaugh lies that Republicans aren’t included in closed-door impeachment hearings

Rush Limbaugh lies that Republicans aren’t included in closed-door impeachment hearings

From the October 25 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show

RUSH LIMBAUGH (HOST): Last night, folks, I had a -- well, I’m not going to call it an epiphany, but you know I am constantly trying to analyze and figure out what the left is doing, the context in which they’re doing it, what their next moves are going to be, but more importantly, what’s really behind it all. And the thing that, of course, is top-drawer today and has been all week is what little Adam pencil-neck Schiff is doing behind closed doors in a so-called impeachment inquiry that doesn’t feature the opposition party, it doesn’t feature cross-examination, no transcripts are released, everything’s being done in private, only selected leaks, you know the drill.