Dan Meuser among House Republicans who stormed secure room used in Trump impeachment investigation

Oct. 24-- Oct. 24--Hours before he hopped Air Force One to fly with President Donald Trump to Pittsburgh Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser was among some two-dozen Republican lawmakers who stormed into a closed-door deposition, temporarily halting the House Democrats' impeachment investigation.

The move prompted chaos on Capitol Hill, as Republicans frustrated with the impeachment probe sought to draw attention to what they say is a lack of transparency in that investigation. Democrats criticized the action as a stunt that compromised a room used for classified briefings; some lawmakers brought cellphones into the secure space.

Meuser's staffers said he was unavailable for an interview Wednesday afternoon because he was traveling with Trump, who was set to address a natural gas industry conference.

The Pennsylvania lawmaker, whose district includes Carbon and Schuylkill counties, has been part of the escalating series of actions by GOP legislators. Republicans have been present during the closed-door investigation, but those sessions have been limited only to lawmakers on the House panels directly involved in the probe.

Meuser and others not on the key committees have publicized their unsuccessful efforts seeking access to the testimony sessions. Meuser posted on Twitter last week that he was "kicked out" of one unclassified session.

The GOP move came one day after testimony from the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, Bill Taylor, whose opening statement described Trump holding back military aid for Ukraine unless the country agreed to investigate Democrats and the Ukrainian gas company where Joe Biden's son served as a board member.

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