Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. is warning Americans that the Republicans who control the House Intelligence Committee may be planning on scotching the investigation into President Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russian government officials.
Schiff, who is the ranking member of the committee, explained on Twitter that Republican committee members were putting on the show of conducting an actual investigation while actually doing everything in their power to undermine it. He also characterized their effort as part of a larger Republican campaign to delegitimize the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller.
I’m increasingly worried Republicans will shut down the House Intelligence Committee investigation at the end of the month.
Here’s why:
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
Since March, our investigation has made important progress. We’ve interviewed numerous key witnesses behind closed doors, held public hearings, reviewed thousands of documents, identified new leads — all to understand and expose Russia's meddling and protect our democracy.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
Yet, Republicans have scheduled no witnesses after next Friday and none in 2017. We have dozens of outstanding witnesses on key aspects of our investigation that they refuse to contact and many document requests they continue to sit on.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
It appears Republicans want to conduct just enough interviews to give the impression of a serious investigation.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
Next week, they scheduled critical witness interviews out of state, when we are voting on the tax bill and vital government funding bills and no Members will be able to ask questions, in an effort to squeeze them in before end of year.
These witnesses are willing to come to DC.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
Despite our repeated urging, Majority has declined to issue subpoenas in numerous avenues of the investigation, where there's simply no other way to get the information. Some refusals we’ve made public, like witnesses hiding behind nonexistent privileges, many others we haven’t.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
The responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation, or to prevent one, ultimately falls on @SpeakerRyan. I’m concerned he's heeding the calls of Bannon and @POTUS to “DO SOMETHING” by closing down the Russia investigation & opening up another investigation of Hilary Clinton.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
Beyond our investigation, here’s what has me really concerned: The attacks on Mueller, DOJ and FBI this week make it clear they plan to go after Mueller’s investigation.
Aggressively and soon.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
By shutting down the congressional investigations when they continue to discover new and important evidence, the White House can exert tremendous pressure to end or curtail Mueller’s investigation or cast doubt on it. We cannot let that happen.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017
Schiff’s observations have coincided with a news cycle which has made it increasingly clear that Trump is planning on clamping down against those investigating his possible Russia connections. Trump has already publicly attacked Mueller by telling reporters earlier on Friday that his investigation has been “really, really disgraceful,” potentially laying the groundwork for firing Mueller in the near future. That has been reinforced by conservatives in the media who have embellished on a series of anti-Trump text messages sent by two FBI agents to imply that it may be biased against the president.
In addition, Trump told those reporters that he wanted “to rebuild the FBI. It will be bigger and better than ever.”
Trump has also refused to rule out pardoning Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser who has been cooperating with prosecutors in their investigation into the president. If Flynn were pardoned by Trump, he would no longer have reason to continue cooperating.
“I don’t want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet. We’ll see what happens. Let’s see. I can say this: When you look at what’s gone on with the FBI and with the Justice Department, people are very, very angry,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of pardoning Flynn.
