I'm seeing some confusion about whether @RepStefanik asked questions at the House Intelligence Committee hearing today. Here's a thread on what happened:
No C-SPAN clip here, but I'll summarize: When it was Rep. Devin Nunes' turn to use his 45 minutes as ranking member, he attempted to yield part of his time to Stefanik. Chairman Adam Schiff intervened because it broke the rules.
I highlighted the rules here:
In short, the chair and ranker each get 45 minutes but can only yield time to counsel, not other members. Stefanik used this to claim that Schiff refused to let members ask questions. (Not true as we'll see later.)
In short, the chair and ranker each get 45 minutes but can only yield time to counsel, not other members. Stefanik used this to claim that Schiff refused to let members ask questions. (Not true as we'll see later.)
When it got the round of questioning where each member had five minutes, Nunes yielded most of his time to Stefanik. Here's Stefanik's full round of questioning: c-span.org/video/?c483056…
As it turns out, Stefanik got to ask questions -- in accordance with the rules set forth in H. Res. 660 -- after all. But that wasn't all. She had her own five-minute round. She didn't ask a question during the round. Here's the clip: c-span.org/video/?c483056…
Stefanik used that time to read into the record comments made by Schiff about the whistleblower potentially testifying before Congress. She then yielded her remaining time to Rep. Jim Jordan.
Stefanik had a total of 8-9 minutes to ask Yovanovitch questions. She asked questions during the period given to her when Nunes yielded his time, then used her own time to read statements made by Schiff.
Addressing this because there are two different stories being told: Stefanik didn't ask questions, or she didn't get an opportunity to ask questions. Both aren't true. She did ask questions, although when her own time came she didn't use that for questioning.
There's this claim she was silenced and not given an opportunity to ask questions. As the videos show, she had two opportunities to ask Yovanovitch questions. There was political theater with the Nunes-Schiff exchange, but the rules are clear. Stefanik had her chance later.
