Today in Impeachment: Order is Hard to Find

The House Judiciary Committee returned from a recess today to continue hearing evidence against Donald Trump. Democratic lawyer Daniel S. Goldman, the counsel for the House Intelligence Committee, stated that Trump is still trying to control next year’s presidential elections with threats that Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, would make a report to the Justice Department over House Democrats (per The New York Times). The Republicans, upset that Goldman was representing Adam Schiff on the floor, made this anger clear, and the attacks got personal.

Doug Collins, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, got into a spat with Goldman during the hearing, critiquing Goldman’s disposition and tone. When Goldman tries to defend himself, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz interjects into the conversation out of nowhere, leading to a gavel being swung several times. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler finally calms things down, reminding his colleagues, “You cannot simply yell out and upset the committee.”

To make matters more chaotic, there was a pro-Trump protester who had to be escorted out of the room:

“Americans are sick of your impeachment scam! Trump is innocent!” — House Judiciary’s impeachment hearing is immediately interrupted by a pro-Trump protester. pic.twitter.com/bbcguyKLFF

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 9, 2019

The video of the heated exchange between Collins and Goldman can be seen below, with the bickering heating up at about 2:16. The biggest irony in the video? At the end of the clip, Republican attorney and chief counsel for the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Ashley Hurt Callen can be seen laughing at the exchange. This is all happening under an administration in which the president has suggested a number of times that women are too emotional for politics.