Conway spars with Wallace on whether White House will cooperate with impeachment inquiry after formal vote

Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway sparred with Fox News’s Chris Wallace on Sunday about  whether the White House would cooperate with the House’s impeachment inquiry following a vote to formalize the process.

“The full House did not vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry. Just Democrats did,” Conway said on “Fox News Sunday” before Wallace reminded her that Democrats hold the majority in the chamber. Independent Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) also voted to authorize the inquiry.

{mosads}Wallace pressed Conway on whether the White House would cooperate with the process in this new stage, which Democrats promised would include public hearings. Conway responded that several current and former White House officials have already testified, but Wallace noted that those officials testified over the objections of the White House.

Conway responded by hitting House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on the handling of information from the closed hearings, telling Wallace, “We’ve seen different people going up there and testifying. … What we haven’t seen is the fullness of the eight or 10 hours each of them has spent testifying.”

“I guess Adam Schiff’s growing mushrooms in the dark in his secret process, which is unfortunate because you cannot put that toothpaste back in the tube,” she added.

Counselor to the President, Kellyanne Conway joined Chris today for a Democracy 2020 special. Kellyanne addressed questions about whether the President will allow officials to testify before the House. #Democracy2020 #FNS #FoxNews #Politics pic.twitter.com/4AFpDzVO0N

— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 3, 2019

On a Democracy 2020 special of FOX News Sunday, Kellyanne Conway reacts to the latest on the impeachment inquiry and Republican criticism of the process. #FNS #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/cO94U8pL92

— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 3, 2019

Conway would not say whether the White House would continue to refuse to cooperate across the board with the inquiry but said, “We as a White House will continue to exert executive privilege where we feel that it is necessary.”

Wallace also pressed Conway on the number of closed hearings the Republican-controlled House held on both Russian interference in the 2016 election and the 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya — a process former House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) has continued to defend.

Conway first pivoted to attacking Hillary Clinton when Wallace asked her why it was “OK for Republicans, when they’re in charge, to conduct hearings, depositions, interviews behind closed doors.”

“I think there is no analogy to the ultimate result here or the ultimate goal here, which is to impeach a president and remove him from office,” Conway added. “This is an extraordinary event.”