House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., defends conducting the impeachment inquiry in secret, despite the public desire to know the basis for the inquiry and Republicans' desire to call witnesses.
"There's a reason why investigations and grand jury proceedings for example – and I think this is analogous to a grand jury proceeding – are done out of the public view initially," Schiff told CBS's "Face the Nation," rejecting the public hearing all the evidence from both sides.
"Now we may very well call some of the same witnesses or all the same witnesses in public hearings as well."
Schiff defends his move for secret proceedings in lieu of a House vote and a public and constitutional impeachment inquiry.
"The Republicans would like nothing better, because they view their role as defending the president being the president's lawyers – if witnesses could tailor their testimony to other witnesses; they would love for one witness to be able to hear what another witness says, so that they can know what they can give away and what they can't give away," Schiff told host Margaret Brennan.
Schiff does not want the public to hear Republicans' side during the investigation.
"We want to make sure that we meet the needs of the investigation and not give the president or his legal minions the opportunity to tailor their testimony and in some cases fabricate testimony to suit their interests," he said.
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