Republican lawmakers, encouraged by President
Donald Trump to get tougher in fighting Democrats' attempts to impeach him, on Wednesday disrupted the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry and prevented a
Pentagon official from testifying.
The
Republicans stormed into a hearing room where Laura Cooper, the U.S. defense official who oversees
Ukraine and
Russia matters, was due to testify behind closed doors and began yelling, lawmakers and aides said.
The impeachment inquiry focuses on Trump's request for Ukraine to investigate a domestic rival - Democrat
Joe Biden - for his personal political benefit.