SDSU Aztec wrote:
Whether it's behind closed doors or open to the public, the testimony will be the same.
No, not necessarily. And that's why it's behind closed doors.
During a fact-gathering process like this, much as in a grand jury proceeding, you don't want one person's testimony potentially influenced by what s/he heard someone else say. Hence closed doors.
This inquiry is vastly different from the last one, in which years (literally) of investigation--mostly behind closed doors-- had been conducted *before* Congress began to act. Congress is performing that fact-gathering function this time, and needs to do it with some secrecy to have the best chance of learning what actually happened.