United States Representative and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., blasted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., over McCarthy's subservience to former President Donald Trump as well as his willingness to kowtow to conspiracy theorist Congresspersons Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in order to get elected as the next Speaker of the House.
On Sunday's edition of CNN's State of the Union, Schiff began by chastising McCarthy's dismissal of the evidence obtained by probes conducted by Congress that showed how operatives within Trump's 2016 presidential campaign solicited help from Russia to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Anchor Dana Bash:
As you well know, the man who is trying to be speaker, Republican Kevin McCarthy, says that he wants to kick you off the Intelligence Committee, the committee that you now chair, because of your handling of the Trump-Russia investigation, and specifically that you repeatedly asserted that there was direct evidence of collusion, direct collusion, which didn't materialize.
What's your response to McCarthy?
Schiff said that "McCarthy apparently doesn't think it's collusion if your campaign manager is giving inside polling data and battle strategy in key states to an agent of Russian intelligence, while the Russians are helping your campaign, but most Americans would call that collusion."
But "McCarthy's problem is not with what I have said about Russia," Schiff explained. "McCarthy's problem is, he can't get to 218 without Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar and Matt Gaetz. And so he will do whatever they ask. And, right now, they're asking for me to be removed from our committees. And he's willing to do it. He's willing to do anything they ask. And that's the problem."
McCarthy "has no ideology. He has no core set of beliefs. It's very hard not only to get to 218 that way. It's even more difficult to keep 218. That's his problem. So, he will misrepresent my record" and those of Democratic Representatives Eric Swalwell of Connecticut or Ilhan Omar of Illinois, Schiff added. "Whatever he needs to do to get the votes of the QAnon caucus within his conference."
Watch below or at this link.
Schiff on CNN on Kevin McCarthy threatening to kick him off the intel committee: "McCarthy's problem is not with what I said about Russia. McCarthy's problem is he can't get to 218 without Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, and Matt Gaetz, and so he will do whatever they ask." pic.twitter.com/AR5nntoNYK
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 27, 2022
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