Earlier this week, Rep. Denny Heck, a Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters that Republicans “are darn lucky these [hearings/depositions] weren’t public.”

Implication: The information coming out is horrifically damaging to President Trump.

Reality: If the information was truly damaging to Trump, Democrats would hold open hearings and would have already released transcripts of the testimonies.

Trump did not ask the Ukrainian president to investigate a political opponent. The Trump administration has released the transcript of the telephone conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the “whistleblower” complaint, the accompanying letter from the Intelligence Community inspector general, the Office of Legal Counsel’s legal brief, and correspondence with Australian officials.

The Trump administration will certainly provide additional evidence and witnesses in an open and transparent process, but why should they cooperate when the fix is in?

Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is holding these closed-door meetings in a top-security room in the basement of the Capitol. He is doing this to keep the public and the president in the dark.

Nevertheless, leftist media outlets report on the substance of what has been testified to and what documents have been produced in these hearings. Someone from the Left is leaking.

Schiff has some ‘splainin to do.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schiff, and Democrats in Congress continue to ignore historical norms and processes in order to try to remove Trump from office. While impeachment is constitutionally permissible, we have settled what that process should be. An impeachment investigation is typically commenced by a formal vote by members of the House of Representatives. The investigation is conducted by the Judiciary Committee or a special select committee as appointed by the speaker with input from the minority party.

At the same time that the formal resolution to investigate the president is voted on, the House also establishes the rules for the investigation, sets the committee that will investigate, and any other particular instructions necessary for the committee to do its work.

But Pelosi and company have failed us and failed you. They refuse to bring the question of whether we should investigate Trump to a vote in the House of Representatives.

Without the formal vote, Schiff can continue to freeze out the public and their representatives by holding closed-door hearings, suppressing the transcripts, and preventing the president from representation of legal counsel.

Due process, one of the hallmarks of freedom that has set us apart from the world, is completely obviated. The denial to the president of his rights to cross-examine the witnesses against him and to prevent Republicans from calling witnesses is evidence that Schiff and company are not interested in running a fair investigation.

This is not, as judicial proceedings are supposed to be, a search for truth and justice; instead, this is a quest to impeach the president, regardless of what the truth may be or what is just.

Pelosi, Schiff, and other Democrats are ignoring the rules of the House (established by precedent), with the singular purpose of removing the president regardless of what the facts are. It seems like they were inspired after reading a book about military coups of the 20th century.

Democrats are seeking to overthrow Trump, duly elected by the voters, with no regard for rules or due process. They might be politicians, but they have more in common with the leaders of a military coup than they think.

Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican, represents Arizona's 5th District in Congress. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. You can follow him on Twitter: @RepAndyBiggsAZ.