Rep. Al Green (D-TX) blasted his own party’s impeachment inquiry over the lack of diversity in the selection of witnesses, declaring it “hurts his heart” and asking, “What subliminal message are we sending to the world when we have experts, but not one person of color?”

Green, a longtime proponent of President Trump’s impeachment, blasted his own party’s impeachment inquiry over its lack of diversity in witnesses, citing the four white legal scholars testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, three of whom were chosen by Democrats:

“It hurts my heart, Mr. Speaker, to see the Judiciary Committee hearing experts on the topic of impeachment … hearing experts, Mr. Speaker, and not one person of color among the experts,” Green said on the House floor on Wednesday:

We cannot have the output of people of color without the input of people of color. It's about fairness. It's about reflecting the richness of diversity in our Nation. #ImpeachmentHearing https://t.co/vwN9ZRFZXw — Congressman Al Green (@RepAlGreen) December 4, 2019

“What subliminal message are we sending to the world when we have experts but not one person of color? Are we saying that there are no people of color who are experts on this topic of impeachment?” he asked, repeatedly asking what message it sends.

Green continued, accusing the Republican Party of ignoring minorities and the Democrat Party of taking them for granted.

“Mr. Speaker, I refuse to be ignored and taken for granted. I came here to represent the people who are ignored and taken for granted,” he continued.

“Not one person of color among the constitutional scholars. It seems that there’s a desire among some to have the output of people of color without input from the people of color,” he added, calling for a “balance as it relates to all aspects of society, and that would include people of color.”

Green argued that it is not a bipartisan issue. Rather, it is about “fairness” and “whether or not we have matured to the point in this country where we’re going to treat all people equally.”

“It’s about whether we have metamorphosed to a point where we will not allow committees to have persons appear without considering the diversity and richness of that diversity within this country,” he said.

“I support people of color. I do so not because I am a person of color. I do so because I believe that in this country the words of the Pledge of Allegiance are important, that we should have liberty and justice for all,” he concluded:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held a closed-door caucus on Wednesday, kicking out staffers and requiring members to check their phones in order to have a frank discussion on the impeachment inquiry. While she did not offer many details upon her emergence from the meeting – only that it was “very prayerful” – reports suggest that she instructed members to be “disciplined” in their messages and cognizant of the various challenges each of them face in their individual districts:

They’ve closed off a side hallway to reporters. And members have been encouraged not to bring their phones inside. And staff is not allowed, as they usually are

Shows the sensitivity of the discussion — Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 4, 2019