Tag: Adam Schiff

‘It’s taken partisanship to a place it’s never been.’ Inside the House Intelligence Committee.

The following article by Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website March 21, 2018:

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), right, and ranking member Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) confer during a break from the panel’s hearing with then-FBI Director James B. Comey in March 2017. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

The House Intelligence Committee will vote Thursday to approve a Republican-drafted report that aims to be Congress’s first official word on just what Russia and the Trump campaign did during the 2016 presidential election, a document expected to further complicate what’s become a contentious relationship among the lawmakers who have conducted the investigation.

Over the past year, the demand for a detailed, public assessment of Russian interference and the allegations of collusion surrounding President Trump has inspired three congressional panels to examine the actions of Trump’s affiliates during and after the election. But where others have mounted a bipartisan effort, the House Intelligence Committee has fractured along party lines, earning a reputation more for sniping than as a voice of investigative authority. Continue reading “‘It’s taken partisanship to a place it’s never been.’ Inside the House Intelligence Committee.”

Lawmakers rally to defend Mueller after McCabe exit

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hillwebsite March 18, 2018:

Lawmakers on Sunday rallied to the defense of special counsel Robert Mueller after concerns were raised over his job security following the abrupt firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Friday that he fired the FBI’s No. 2 official in a move that roiled Washington, D.C., and spurred a series of tweets from President Trump denouncing Mueller, McCabe and former FBI Director James Comey.

McCabe said his firing was an attempt to undermine the Mueller investigation into Russia’s election interference and possible collusion between members of Trump’s campaign and Moscow. The president targeted Mueller’s investigation in a series of tweets over the weekend, further alarming many lawmakers.

Democrats on Sunday were calling for proactive measures to protect Mueller and his investigation. Republicans insisted Trump has no intention of firing the special counsel, although the White House also acknowledged Trump is “frustrated.” Continue reading “Lawmakers rally to defend Mueller after McCabe exit”

In Russia probe, Hope Hicks refuses to answer questions about Trump administration

The following article by Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website February 27, 2018:

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) says White House communications director Hope Hicks refused to answer House investigators’ questions on the Trump administration. (The Washington Post)

White House communications director Hope Hicks refused to answer questions about the Trump administration that House investigators posed Tuesday as part of their probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

But under pressure from lawmakers, she began to offer some details about the transition period Tuesday afternoon, according to House Intelligence Committee members of both parties, who said Hicks and her attorneys agreed to address topics broached with the Senate Intelligence Committee in an earlier private interview. Continue reading “In Russia probe, Hope Hicks refuses to answer questions about Trump administration”

Schiff: Trump ‘claims vindication anytime someone sneezes’

The following article by Cristiano Lima was posted on the Politico website February 18, 2018:

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called on President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia passed by Congress in response to Russians’ 2016 election meddling. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Rep. Adam Schiff jabbed President Donald Trump on Sunday for citing the indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team in its probe of Russian election meddling as proof his campaign had not colluded with foreign operatives.

During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the California Democrat was asked whether he felt the indictment by Mueller proved that Trump campaign officials had not colluded with Russia, as the president has suggested on Twitter.

“No, of course not,” Schiff replied. “But this is a president who claims vindication anytime someone sneezes.” Continue reading “Schiff: Trump ‘claims vindication anytime someone sneezes’”

Schiff Says He Fears Mueller’s Findings Won’t Become Public

The following article by Gopal Ratnam was posted on the Roll Call website February 16, 2018:

Top Intelligence Committee Democrat concerned about politicized decision-making

House Intelligence ranking member Adam B. Schiff is concerned the findings of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian meddling in the 2016 election won’t be made public. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo

The complete findings of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections may not become public when the probe is completed, California Rep. Adam B. Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Friday.

“One of the issues I have raised with the deputy attorney general” Rod Rosenstein is “how are we going to deal with this when the investigations come to an end?” Schiff said, referring to findings of the Mueller probe. “Will there be a report to Congress and what will Bob Mueller be able to disclose publicly?”

Schiff’s comments came at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. Continue reading “Schiff Says He Fears Mueller’s Findings Won’t Become Public”

Schiff: Trump doesn’t want to release Dem memo because it ‘undermines his claim of vindication’

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hill website February 11, 2018:

Credit: John Shinkle/POLITICO

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday said President Trump doesn’t want the public to see the “underlying facts” in the Democratic countermemo because they would undercut his “claim of vindication” in the Russia probe.

“The president doesn’t want you to see these facts from the FISA application because it completely undermines his claim of vindication,” Schiff told CBS’s “Face the Nation,” referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court application used to obtain a warrant to spy on a former Trump campaign aide. Continue reading “Schiff: Trump doesn’t want to release Dem memo because it ‘undermines his claim of vindication’”

Pressure builds on Trump to release Dem countermemo

The following article by Katie Bo Williams and Jordan Fabian was posted on the HillI website February 7, 2018:

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Trump is under mounting pressure to allow the release of a Democratic rebuttal to a GOP memo that alleges bias in the FBI’s handling of the Russia investigation.

Trump has until Friday to block the publication of the 10-page document, which right now remains classified. The White House has played coy about whether Trump will allow it to become public.

The president met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Tuesday to review the document and “discuss some of the differences” with the GOP document, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Continue reading “Pressure builds on Trump to release Dem countermemo”

Adam Schiff Brandishes the Other T Word: Timeout

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website February 5, 2018:

House Intelligence Committee top Democrat returns fire at Trump

From left, Rep. Swalwell, D-CA., ranking member Rep. Schiff, D-CA, and Rep. Castro, D-TX. Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

House Intelligence ranking member Adam Schiff responded to President Donald Trump’s Twitter criticism of him Monday by calling for the commander-in-chief to be reprimanded like a child.

“It may be time for General Kelly to give the president a timeout,” the California Democrat said in an interview with CNN, referring to Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly. “I think the country would certainly benefit from that anyway.”

Trump attacked Schiff on Twitter Monday morning, calling him “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington” and saying he needs to be stopped. Continue reading “Adam Schiff Brandishes the Other T Word: Timeout”

Rep. Adam Schiff, leading Democrat in Russia probe, gets a new Trump nickname

The following article by Noah Bierman was posted on the Los Angeles Times website February 5, 2018:

President Trump flashed anger at one of his leading antagonists in the Russia probe, mocking Rep. Adam Schiff’s personal appearance and accusing him without evidence of illegally leaking “confidential information.”
Continue reading “Rep. Adam Schiff, leading Democrat in Russia probe, gets a new Trump nickname”

Schiff: No, the memo doesn’t vindicate Trump

The following article by Brent D. Griffiths was posted on the Politico website February 4, 2018:

“Sources are going to dry up because of what the Republicans on the committee are doing now,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) of fallout from the Nunes memo. Credit: John Shinkle/POLITICO

House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff said Sunday that the Republican memo about alleged FBI misconduct does not vindicate President Donald Trump.

“Of course not at all,” Schiff (D-Calif.) told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.”

“What the memo indicates is the investigation didn’t begin with Carter Page, it actually began with George Papadopoulos, someone who was a foreign policy adviser for candidate Trump and someone who was meeting secretly with the Russians and talking about the stolen Clinton e-mails,” Schiff said. Continue reading “Schiff: No, the memo doesn’t vindicate Trump”