Washington Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti said Tuesday that House Democrats showed they're more interested in public relations than fact-finding with the way they reacted to former White House Counsel Don McGahn’s refusal to attend a hearing.
Continetti’s comments about the hearing came during an appearance on Fox News Channel's America’s Newsroom. He discussed the heated disagreement between Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) and Rep. Doug Collins (R., Ga.) that took place early in the hearing.
"When you look at the two characters," said host Jon Scott, "you’ve got Jerrold Nadler who hates Donald Trump with every fiber of his being, and then Doug Collins presenting the sort of rebuttal argument, this Southern gentleman if you will, who is a big Trump supporter. It’s fascinating television to watch."
Continetti said Democrats are trying to "provide the illusion" of impeaching Trump without pulling the trigger on impeachment hearings.
"Well I think Collins made some excellent points about how the Democrats on the committee are more interested in public relations than fact-finding," said Continetti. "The very fact that they had this televised hearing—it wasn’t really a hearing, it was kind of a joint speech-making—suggests that what the Democrats want to do is provide the illusion of an impeachment process without actually opening up one. Because they know if they do open up one, it could be a political backlash against them at the polls."
After Don McGahn defied a House Committee subpoena to testify about the Mueller report, Nadler expressed the committee’s dedication to obtaining McGahn’s testimony and willingness to go through courts to secure it.
Collins took issue with the legitimacy of Nadler’s investigation in his rebuttal to the chairman’s comments.
"The chairman could have invited the witness to testify behind closed doors but that would have been politically expedient and you wouldn’t have been here, and the show would not have been as exciting," Collins said. "A closed-door conversation would not have generated those headlines and everything that we’re looking at today. Even gaveling in today’s hearing without a witness is theatrical. The cameras love the spectacle… I just am glad today to see that we don’t have chicken on the dais."
Tuesday’s hearing sets up a possible legal battle over whether McGahn must testify before Congress. The White House has cited executive privilege in directing him not to appear in hearings about his tenure in the Trump administration.