FAIRMONT — Congressman Jim Hagedorn was among Republicans who tried to get into a behind-closed-doors impeachment hearing this week in Washington.

“In order to represent the interests of the 700,000 southern Minnesotans, I sought access to the proceedings and/or transcripts of depositions to stay informed of developments in a timely fashion,” Hagedorn said. “Despite the fact that the hearings are void of classified information, my requests were rebuffed.

“Upon leaving the secure area, I was interviewed by national reporters and given the opportunity to highlight the unfair, unprecedented and overly political Democrat impeachment process that Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and Chairman [Adam] Schiff are orchestrating.”

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Republicans briefly brought the Democrat-led impeachment investigation to a halt when around two dozen GOP House members stormed into a closed-door deposition with a Defense Department official.

Democrats said the move compromised national security because some of the Republicans took electronic devices into a secure room. A Hagedorn spokesman said his boss did not bring a cellphone. Hagedorn also was not part of the group that actually entered the hearing.

The AP reported that the protest by Republicans captured national attention, drawing focus away from the testimony of a top U.S. diplomat who told lawmakers just a day earlier that he was told President Donald Trump was withholding military aid from Ukraine unless the country’s president pledged to investigate Democrats.

According to the AP:

The GOP maneuver delayed a deposition with Laura Cooper, a senior Defense Department official who oversees Ukraine policy, until midafternoon. The interview began roughly five hours behind schedule, after a security check by Capitol officials, and ended after roughly four hours.

Republicans have been outspoken about their disdain for Democrats and the impeachment process, saying it is unfair to them even though they have been in the room questioning witnesses and hearing the testimony.

“The members have just had it, and they want to be able to see and represent their constituents and find out what’s going on,” said Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight and Reform panel. That committee is one of three leading the investigation, and its members are allowed into the closed-door hearings.

Later when the deposition began, Cooper answered questions from lawmakers and staffers in response to a subpoena, an official working on the impeachment inquiry said. She explained to lawmakers the process of distributing military aid and was asked whether the appropriate steps were followed on Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the interview. The official working on the impeachment inquiry and the person familiar with the interview spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door testimony.

“The president’s allies in Congress are trying to make it even more difficult for these witnesses to cooperate,” said Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee.

Democrats deny that Republicans are being treated unfairly, noting they have had equal time to question witnesses and full access to the meetings. Schiff says closed-door hearings are necessary to prevent witnesses from concealing the truth and has promised to release the transcripts when it will not affect the investigation.

The Republicans who took part in the protest were unbowed. Rep. Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, said Democrats are running a “Soviet-style process” that should “not be allowed in the United States of America.”

“We’re not going to be bullied,” he said.