US secrecy determination as per Article I, Section 5, Clause 3

Question

Question: What does it take exactly to determine a judgement of proceedings and votes by either house to require secrecy?

Why, context, etc.

• As per Article I, Section 5, Clause 3 does this mean only on fifth of either housed determines which proceeding take place in secrecy or is there more to this than that (see supporting resources below).
• I read over an excellent answer recently added to the Why are congressional votes not secret? and it was stated about this article and clause and said for example "the House passed an amendment to FOIA in 2016 by a voice vote, with no record of individual votes being made" so it seems this is technically and legally possible just not the "normal".
• With the recent incitement of insurrection by POTUS Donald Trump and some Republicans voting to impeach it's also been reported "many more GOP members who "want to vote to impeach but they legitimately fear for their lives and their families’ live""—this seems like a legitimate reason Senate could vote in secrecy for this same fear on the impeachment.

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Supporting Resources

Article I

Section 5

Clause 3

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Answer 1

The reference to one fifth does not refer to secrecy, as there is a semi-colon between those two parts.

Rather, the one fifth refers to the yeas and nays. This means that, if one fifth of members want to have recorded who voted yes and who voted no for a particular question, then it shall be recorded onto the Journal.

The reason it's not done automatically is because it simply takes a lot of time, and if there is near-unanimous consensus across members, then that time could be better spent doing something else.

Answer 2

The House can determine which matters require secrecy. If necessary by a vote by simple majority (same as other procedural votes).

The "one fifth" rule is for whether the details of the vote are recorded. For many procedural matters a voice vote is held. The results of many of these votes are either unanimity or a very small dissenting minority. The details of who voted in these motions isn't recorded. These aren't usually matters of great importance. And just because the yeas and nays aren't listed doesn't mean the vote was done in secret. However if there isn't nearly unanimity (in particular if 1/5 of those present object) then a recorded vote takes place.

What can happen is described by Rule XVII of the House Rules:

Secret sessions When confidential communications are received from the President, or when the Speaker or a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner informs the House that such individual has communications that such individual believes ought to be kept secret for the present, the House shall be cleared of all persons except the Members, Delegates, Resident Commissioner, and officers of the House for the reading of such communications, and debates and proceedings thereon, unless otherwise ordered by the House.

A member states that he or she has communications that should be secret, the C-span cameras are turned off, the galleries cleared and the House hears the communication in secret, and may debate discuss the matter in secret. It is very rarely used. It is called a "Closed Session" The most recent closed session was held on 13 March 2008 (for under an hour) to discuss classified details of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Program during debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008.(see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_sessions_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives)

It is perhaps worth noting that in a Senate trial, when the senators wish to deliberate as a jury, is done in closed session.