U.S. House Republicans speak to reporters after Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper arrived to testify at a closed-door deposition as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Mark Meadows on Wednesday said fellow Republicans had successfully halted testimony in the congressional impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats and that there were no negotiations to resolve the dispute.

Meadows, speaking to reporters, said the Republicans who sought to force their way into a deposition with a key Pentagon official were “going to wait until there’s a more open and transparent process.”

Separately, Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell told reporters that the Republicans had compromised a secure area of the Capitol, obstructing the impeachment inquiry and seeking to intimidate a witness, but would not delay the impeachment probe overall.