with manage massachusetts governor bill weld and congressman mark sanford who talk abouttheir plans, energy and why they're running against the president . they will be taking your calls, tweets and facebook comments, part of the campaign 20/20 coverage live that friday p.m. eastern on c-span . watch anytime c-span.org and listen wherever you are using the free c-span radio app. house minority leader kevin mccarthy told reporters he would not have used the word lynching as president trump did you describe the impeachment inquiry. house leader mccarthy was joined by other republican leaders and members of the house intelligence committee. following this briefing we will hear from house democrats . >> good morning everybody,

thanks for joining us . we want to touch on a number of things this morning but in particular we continue to watch what's happening with this impeachment process . it is any definition a process that is an attempt in secret in the basement of the capital to unseat a duly elected president of the united states. it's unlike anything we've ever seen before. we know what a constitutionally serious impeachment process would look like. we saw that happened both with president nixon and president clinton. this is not that. this is not a search for the truth. this is not a situation where you've got the majority of the democrats who are upholding their

constitutional duty and trying to get to the truth this is a situation wherethey know the outcome they want and they have concocted a process in secret without the presidents council they are, without the ability to cross-examine witnesses , without the ability for the american people to see the evidence they are collecting . it really is an appalling miscarriage of justice, a miscarriage of their constitutional duties and obligations and it is something the american people will long remember . it's a dangerous thing for our republic to be in a process where 63 million americans are being nullified in an attempt by the democrats to unseat president trump driven by their hatred for this president and their partisan determination to try to do what they can cannot do at the ballot box. to talk in more detail about the kinds of abuses we are seeing, about what we are seeing we have to republican members of the intel committee with us this morning. to give you some more specifics on what's happening and what's not happening and with that, i'd like to turn thingsover to the gentleman from new york . >> chairwoman cheney.

at least stephan, i represent the 21st congressional district. this is my second term on intelligence committee. i wanted to echo what liz mentioned. this has been a closed-door, unfair and unprecedented process. tens of millions of americans should know that their member of congress as had no access to any of the transcripts. in fact, no member has been able to read every transcript and let me tell you why. there have been only two transcripts made available to intelligence committee members. the first is kurt folders, the second is ambassador yovanovich's. we were told they would be printing one transcript for every member and you would have to read itwith a member of democratic staff . that is unprecedented and unfair. this is coming from the intelligence committee. i certainly believe that every member of congress should have access to every transcript because the

question that's how are they talking about this in their district? how early so sure of support when they don't have access to the evidence in this proposed process and i also believe every transcript should be released to the public. we continue to see press reports of cherry picked from transcripts, not breaking the rules and i believe this should betransparent . not a political game. this is a serious process and chairman schiff is unfit to chair the intelligence committee. i'll turn it over to my colleague mike turner. >> thank you elyse, there is nothing more extreme or a greater threat to democracy and when congress undertake an impeachment process. it is absolutely essential that to preserve democracy that we have an impeachment process that is open and transparent or the american public and see what is occurring in here today we have an impeachment process

occurring in secret without any real action is even happening from the house. the house is nottaking action to open an impeachment process, nor has any committee , nor house to house taking a vote on the process to be undertaken in secret. i have an unbelievable abuse of process but in addition to it being secret, where the american public does not have the ability to watch the witnesses for those questioning them, each member and the manner in which they have structured this is restrained who does have access to the information from telling anyone anything that's happening behind closed doors. i am prevented from going to constituency in ohio and telling them what's happening kind closed doors of which i'm a member. as the media reports, news leaks of what has occurred, many of which are absolutely inaccurate andfalse , members of congress have no ability to stand in front of you and give you the correct information you can report it . i do not believe we should be left to wait for transcripts

or that the american public should be depending on leaks from those who have undertaken this process. everyone should have the opportunity to seek every aspect of this proceeding. iran-contra, richard nixon's impeachment process, bill clinton's impeachment process all happened where the american public not just members of congress, the public and the opportunity to witness every aspect. as elise said, what's troubling is even though i can't as a member of the committee complain about the restrictions on my ability to report what i know , many members of congress know nothing because the way this is being conducted, members are not getting access to the hearing themselves, the way i've been given access to the transcripts. many who are telling you they are for or against impeachment have no access to the information necessary for them to come to that conclusion. this is a process being done in secret and it's a

violation of the constitutional provisions but also the right of the american public and i'd like to introduce the police who not only is our wit is an american i want to share the alarming concern of my colleagues that talking about what is happening behind closed doors. everybody in america should be alarmed that rightnow , you're in congress, there is an impeachment inquiry going on to the president of the united states and the public is not allowed to see it. the press is not allowed to see it and members of congress on the relevant committees are not even allowed in the room or able to see the transcripts of what's going on over there. every american ought to be alarmed that they're literally trying to review reverse results of the 2016 election behind closed doors in secret, run by a chairman who has a very concerning track record of telling the truth and you can go back to the mueller investigation. for 22 months you had

chairman schiff running around saying he had more than circumstantial evidence that there was collusion and at the end of the report,you saw the mueller reports, there was no collusion . and schiff never showed any evidence area he's never come forward with this evidence that he ran around for over a year and a half claiming that he had and instead moved on to the next baseless charge against the president because from day one, their intention was to impeach the president regardless of fact and you've got dozens of members of congress have come out in support of impeachment and can't tell you one high crime or misdemeanor which is the standard in the constitution. and they haven't even been able to have access to the transcripts themselves in many cases and yet they say therefore impeaching the president of the united states. it's alarming that you're seeing this going on not only has the press been denied access, in many cases the only information they're able

to get our leaks as it's been pointed out before that have been undermined in their own credibility because they been proven baseless later on so you have a drab leaks that come out over and over again, many of which have been disproven and that the only method we have of finding that information on a movement to impeach a president of the united states. this is a mockery of the process. people across the country should be alarmed that this is going on in secret behind closed doors area can't even, the majority leader when i asked him last week, are we in an impeachment inquiry, wouldn't even get astraight answer to that . it should be a simple question. it's only happened three times in the history of our country where an impeachment inquiry happened and in every case, the full congress voted first. there were rules established of fairness so that you could at least see what was going on that's not happening right

now. there's never been a vote of congress, there are no fairness issues . majority leader fair process and i questioned him on it and i said you're going to call it a fair process when members of congress can't get access to the information, the press can't get access to the information. the onlywitnesses called our witnesses called by the majority, the minority has no rights to call witnesses or to subpoena and you're going to call that a fair process ? that doesn't pass the smell test for people across the country who are growing appalled that this is happening behind closed doors in secret and to quote the lead author of the articles of impeachment on the democrat side, he said the president will get reelected if we don't impeach him. you don't impeach a president you don't like the results of the election. the american people ought to be the one to decide who the president is, not speaker policy and adam schiff kinda close doors in secret and with that i bring up minority leader kevin mccarthy.

>> good morning. i appreciate our two members from the intel committee spending time with us. as you know, the democrats have written the script. they president and they are abusing their power to undo an election. think about what impeachment means. the removal of a duly elected person. it doesn't matter what party you belong to, doesn't matter what your philosophy is. fairness is one of the most powerful words in the english vocabulary. we look out at the capital and see the supreme court's. we look at the statue of a woman, blindfolded with a scale, we believe in fairness and due process. but there's one place that has changed who believes in power and not in due process and that's pelosi. congress believes no matter what decision you came to, in the end you wanted to make

sure itwas there because you're breaking the fabric of democracy . we're at a press conference but i would love to be at a press conference, every democrat already supports impeachment.only the one thing you have read to support impeachment. because they won't let you read the transcripts. i want to leak certain items. they don't want to have it in judiciary where the american public can seeit . they don't want to have you vote on an inquiry, they don't believe in afair process . why do they want to do this? they already written the script. they have to have the outcome . you know the things that we are not doing? do you recall when adam

schiff said he wished he knew who the whistleblower was, that he had great concern the administration was going to block the whistleblower from coming to committee, that this whistleblower there was quid pro quo. now not only all the world knows what's in the transcript of that phonecall, there was no quid pro quo . we now also noted all america that adam schiff lied to us one more time. one more time. there are two members today that are sitting on the intel committee . before they were put on the intel committee i interviewed them i wanted to know do they have the integrity to be able to serve therebecause these members user , they read certain selected secretmemos that others cannot have . so when they members, they better have the integrity to tell the truth. we watched the chairman of the committee stand before all the nation and read what he hoped was inthe script of that phone call . he was such a good liar at the speaker of the house believed him.

speaker nancy pelosi believed him and defended her normal national television . and when he looked into the cameras on msnbc and was asked the question do you know who the whistleblower is, he said he wished he could and what do we find out later? he knows who the whistleblower is. staff met with him. the staff advised him to go to the inspector general and the whistleblower never told the inspector general he met with the staff because it wasn't in the script . so the question before any democrat who supports impeachment, state where in the transcript that there's quid pro quo. tell me what you have read that brought you to this conclusion. because nobody in congress can read them they're all in secret. we are better than this. we are better than this as a nation . we are better than this as a

house of representatives. what's worse about all this going on is what we are not doing. what we are not passing. there are 22legislative days left in this year . and we're living under a continuing resolution when we have an unsafe world. are they going to move the funding for the troops or the pay raises? what about united states mexico and canada agreement, our two biggest traders before we sit down and negotiate, would we not be stronger as a nation to have that agreement done -mark mexico has already approved it, canada has already had an election last night . but there's one person that has the power to bring it forth. the speaker of the house. too enthralled in impeachment to do anything else. what about surprise billing? what about extending flood insurance? what about the things the american public expects us to do and what are all the

things the intel community should be doing right now with rand, north korea, with syria and others that they are not doing cut their more enthralled and script barely readingtrying to create an impeachment for something they cannot find . it is so powerful that it has changed democrats minds in america today whether you're innocent until proven guilty. and max rose now believes your guilty untilyour proven innocent when it comes to the president of the united states . the hatred is the hatred that great? are they not upset about an election? with only 13 months away before our next election, i think the american public station put this impeachment aside, let them make a decision and do the work american public access substitute . last night we had a vote on the floor about centering adam schiff. three times he has lied to us and theamerican public . the question should be to all the democrats who issue

should be tabled, what standards you hold to your chair? it's okay to lie? i guess you not accept it. i guess that's part of the script to. we are better than this and i believe they are better as well. yes sir. >> this morning the president put out a tweet deriding the process. [inaudible] >> it's clear what the democrats are doing here is not due process . it is not fair, it's not something that this house has done ever in the past. think about it for a moment.

democrats control the house, the speaker sets forth a process in dealing with president clinton. the republican speaker set forth the failed process dealing with president clinton. now we even change the rules in the intel community that you can't even read the transcripts if you're on the committee unless the big of the majority is there to witness you. never has anyone been treated that way area let node not have due process, not have president clinton's case, his attorneys were there to cross-examine. they were able to put a witness list together. both sides and subpoena power , none of that is available today how can you trust it and why would you even go forward ? >> why wouldn't you use that language? >> i don't agreewith that language . >> why is that. >> you talked about the three

lies you believe adamschiff has told . trump has told thousands of lies the president has told, do those licensor you as well? >> i always have concerns when people live, most importantly when i look at the chairman of the committee and the members of congress do not get to read the secret memos, the exclusive information that goes on the committeehalf . speaker of the house wouldn't wait 48 hours to see a transcript but decided we're going to be in an impeachment inquiry, when the moment of time for the nation to watch, that chairman sat and made up a transcript that he wished had been in that call. that when he sat how many times do i know his staff met with this whistleblower, did he meet with the was a lower, does the speaker talk about how he made this decision and he told the american public and he was such a convincing liar at the speaker of the house on national television

with george stephanopoulos argued with him and said that was true. but the jeopardy of our nation, it broke the fabric of who we were. could you trust him to go further and now he put him in charge of this impeachment for the rest of the nation cannot see the members of congress cannot read. members one after the other go down to the committee and are denied. the committee members themselves are denied unless his staff looks at you when you're doing it . when have we ever empowered somebody so far in such a corrupt matter to allow that to happen yes, i stand by the sensor movement and i wish otherswould have stood up to at the same time . >> with your job easier if the president adhered to the truth more often? >> i think the truman the president has done a tremendous job . the is our job easier that the president has helped turn the economy around, rebuilt the military, is america strong as more people are working today western art the president deserves credit for that.

adam schiff deserves to be censured for lying to the american public when nobody else can read what he's able to read . anything else? thank you all. >> now house democrats hold their weekly news conference. asked about their handlingof the impeachment process . >> good morning, thank you for your presence. we had a very active discussion earlier today about one of the top priorities of the house democratic caucus . hr three, or go to lower drug prices on behalf of the americanpeople . we consistently made clear to the president and to the set that one of the things that