House GOP Leader Says Trump’s Removal Would ‘Undo’ 2016 Election

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks at the House Republican Members’ Retreat in Baltimore, Md., on Sept. 12, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) attacked the House’s impeachment inquiry process again on Sunday, saying that the removal of President Trump would be an undoing of the 2016 presidential election.

“I think that democracy is too precious to think that somebody who’s not on a phone call, that cannot stand before the American public and answer the question, that somehow we would change the course of that,” McCarthy said during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,“ referring to the whistleblower, whose complaint has led to the inquiry.

A CBS anchor noted that a lawyer for the whistleblower would allow Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee to submit questions in writing without Democrats’ influence.

“I think if the whistleblower should come forward in an open hearing and also bring the six people that he talks about inside his complaint that he said talked about other issues as well,” the House GOP leader told the news outlet.

President Donald Trump (R) flanked by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (2R) react as they watch the Ultimate Fighting Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y., on Nov. 2, 2019. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

“I have never received that offer, and I’m the lead Republican,” McCarthy added.

Mark Zaid, the lawyer for the whistleblower, said that he sent a letter to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.

And McCarthy pilloried House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) handling of the inquiry into Trump.

When he was asked about witness testimonial, he said, “I think the very first person we should bring, Adam Schiff and his staff.”

“So we have offered to @DevinNunes, Ranking HPSCI Member, opportunity for Minority to submit through legal team written questions to WBer,” Zaid wrote on Twitter. “Qs cannot seek identifying info, regarding which we will not provide, or otherwise be inappropriate. We will ensure timely answers.”

President Donald Trump speaks at a Make America Great Again rally in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on Nov. 5, 2018. Right: Nancy Pelosi (Jim Watson/AFP; Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Nunes hasn’t issued a public comment about the matter.

Republicans have complained that the impeachment inquiry in the Democratic-led House of Representative rules has been unfair to them and that they have been restricted in their questioning of witnesses.

They have said that the whistleblower’s unknown identity undermines the credibility of the complaint and interpreting the call between Trump and Ukraine’s president on July 25, which has become the focal point of the impeachment inquiry.

Meanwhile, Pelosi told Bloomberg TV that open hearings might start in November. She didn’t elaborate on exactly when.

“I don’t know what the timetable will be—the truth will set us free,” she said. “We have not made any decisions on if the president will be impeached.”