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WASHINGTON -- Two of West Virginia's three U.S. House representatives, Wednesday morning, were among those who barged into a closed-door hearing in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
Reps. Alex Mooney and Carol Miller, both R-W.Va., were with the more than 30 Republican representatives led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida at a press conference and inside the meeting room, called the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, according to their Twitter posts.
Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., didn't participate, a spokesman said.
After delaying proceedings about five hours, the congressmen left and testimony began at 3 p.m. from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper.
"This morning I stood with my Republican colleagues in an attempt to end the Democrats' secrecy regarding impeachment," Miller said in a tweet Wednesday morning. "As a member of @GOPoversight, I am allowed inside, but all members and the American people deserve the same transparency."
Her tweet included a photograph of the assembled representatives, with Mooney standing on the stairwell.
"I'm proud to be standing for our president," Mooney said.
Mooney, in a Twitter post, is seen entering the meeting room holding what appears to be a cell phone. He posted a first-person report from the room on his Twitter account.
When Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the Intelligence Committee, saw the congressmen enter, he left the room, as did the witness, Mooney said. That was around 10 a.m., he said.
"We've been sitting here waiting for the hearing to start," said Mooney, using a secure phone because cell phones were confiscated. The call made at 1:22 p.m. was recorded for his Twitter post.
"I represent over 600,000 people in West Virginia who are not given a right to know what's being said in these hearings…as they brazenly attempt for no reason to impeach the president of the United States," Mooney said.
(Mancini can be contacted at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com)