Protest Just the Latest Resistance from Republicans on Impeachment

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Win McNamee/Getty Images


We ran the numbers: There are 1936 news articles covering this topic. 63% (1220) are left leaning, 24% (469) center, 13% (247) right leaning.

The decision by House Republicans on Wednesday to storm the SCIF -- Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility -- where impeachment proceedings are being held was just the latest resistance to the process.

Since the first announcement of the impeachment inquiry last month, President Trump and his allies have vigorously denounced the process and its basis -- a July phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president.  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has called the impeachment proceedings “unfair and dangerous,” while Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said that it’s “all being done in the basement of the Capitol where no one in the country can see.” 

The conservative resistance took to new highs on Wednesday after nearly a dozen House Republicans stormed the SCIF and demanded access to the impeachment proceedings with some members going as far as calling the process a sham. 

In the two days since the storm-in, President Trump has taken the opportunity to thank the House Republicans involved in the protest for being tough on the impeachment proceedings he calls a “sham.” 

Of the 1,936 news articles written on the topic, 1,220 (63%) are left-leaning, 469 (24%) are centrist, and 247 (13%) are right-leaning. 

The New York Times published a left-leaning article detailing how the American public is responding to the G.O.P protest. In the article, a retired New York City Criminal Court judge, Gerald Harris, writes that -- after failing to deceive the public into thinking the impeachment inquiry is invalid -- Trump and his allies have “adopted the tactics of the mob, invading the hearing room, disrupting proceedings and intimidating witnesses.” Additionally, the Times article includes comments from Stamford, Conn. man Peter B. Case who writes that the G.O.P. protest was “thuggish and juvenile” and that it’s “time for congressional Republicans to re-establish statesmanship.” 

A centrist article from The Hill focuses on President Trump thanking the House Republican members involved in the protest. According to the article, Trump tweeted his thanks on Thursday saying, “Thank you to House Republicans for being tough, smart, and understanding in detail the greatest Witch Hunt in American History.” Trump also made comments surrounding Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who’s been critical of Trump’s conduct in recent weeks. According to the Hill, Trump said, “Democrats stick together. They don’t have a Mitt Romney in their midst. They don’t have the Mitt Romneys of the world.” 

A right-leaning Fox News article criticizes Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee heading the impeachment inquiry, as well as the process itself. In the article, Fox News host Sean Hannity said, “Congressman Adam Schiff is not trustworthy. We know he is a pathological liar.” Additionally, Hannity said the “so-called impeachment inquiry is one big corrupt hoax, one big massive lie.” The article also reports that Hannity said Schiff read a “completely fictional transcript into the record during an official hearing.”