24 Oct 2019
Rep. Bennie Thompson called
the GOP stunt an "unprecedented breach of security."
Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman
of the House Homeland Security Committee, demanded on Wednesday that the
chamber's sergeant at arms "take action" against the dozens of
Republican lawmakers who stormed
a secure impeachment hearing room with their cellphones, a brazen
violation of House rules.
In a letter (pdf)
to House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, the chamber's chief law enforcement
official, Thompson called Republicans' coordinated
attempt to disrupt House Democrats' impeachment inquiry "a
blatant breach of security" that "violates the oath of all members of
Congress sign to gain access to classified information" and
"contravenes security controls established by the Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency for the protection of classified information."
"This unprecedented
breach of security raises serious concerns for committee chairmen, including
me, responsible for maintaining SCIFs [Sensitive Compartmented Information
Facilities]," Thompson wrote. "As such, I am requesting you take
action with respect to the members involved in the breach."
"More broadly,"
Thompson added, "I urge you to take House-wide action to remind all
members about the dangers of such reckless action and the potential national
security risks of such behavior."
Thompson's letter came after
the GOP's disruption effort was finally tamped down. All told, the Republican
stunt delayed by five hours the testimony of Pentagon official Laura Cooper, a
witness in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
As Buzzfeed reported,
a dozen of the House Republicans who took part in Wednesday's stunt are members
of the House Intelligence, Judiciary, or Foreign Affairs Committees, meaning
they already had access to the impeachment hearing that they decried as overly
secretive.
Journalist Marcy Wheeler compiled
a list of the more than 40 Republican lawmakers who took part in the
security violation.
On top of storming a secure
room with their electronic devices, numerous Republican lawmakers—including
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the group—tweeted updates from inside the
SCIF, a significant breach of House security protocol.
The lawmakers later claimed
the tweets were sent by
staff.
"Since many of the flash
mob already sat on the committees, they *knew* how serious a breach it was to
bring devices into SCIF and did it anyways," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
(D-N.Y.) tweeted late
Wednesday. "Our country is a game to them. Remember that the next time
they use 'national security' as an excuse for their bad ideas."
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