Schiff acknowledges his concern over Trump’s threats against him

“I think anyone who’s on his enemies list should be concerned,” Schiff said on “Meet the Press”

By Nandika Chatterjee

News Fellow

Published July 7, 2024 4:36PM (EDT)

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) holds a news conference shortly after the release of the committee's Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report at the U.S. Capitol December 03, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) holds a news conference shortly after the release of the committee's Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report at the U.S. Capitol December 03, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that grants Donald Trump immunity is scary from all sides, but perhaps especially so for those on the receiving end of his threats, such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif).  

Schiff being a member of the Jan. 6 select committee doesn't win him any popularity points with Trump, for sure, but their rift goes back much further. 

In 2019, Trump and his allies targeted Schiff in relation to the White House’s Ukraine scandal, during which time Trump wrote on Twitter, “Rep. Adam Schiff illegally made up a FAKE & terrible statement, pretended it to be mine as the most important part of my call to the Ukrainian President, and read it aloud to Congress and the American people. It bore NO relationship to what I said on the call. Arrest for Treason?"

When asked about Trump’s accusation of fraud and treason against him, Schiff told NBC News’ Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” Sunday that “of course” he is worried about the former president’s personal threats against him. 

“I think anyone who’s on his enemies list should be concerned,” Schiff said.

He went on to state that he is particularly concerned after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have immunity from actions considered official acts because of the implications the ruling has if Trump wins the presidential race this year. 

“What concerns me the most is what the court just did was to basically tell Donald Trump, you can do anything through the Justice Department. You can do anything through the military,” Schiff said. “These are core responsibilities of the president of the United States. You will have unquestioned immunity for whatever you do. And even outside of that, you will have such a strong presumption of immunity as to be irrebuttable.”


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