Adam Schiff

Rep. Adam Schiff Blasts Fbi Director, Demands More Information About Russia Investigation

... that it failed to share enough information about its investigation into alleged Russian interference in the presidential election. "We cannot represent to the American people that we're doing a thorough job if the Department of Justice or the FBI is unwilling to tell us what indeed they've looked at, what leads they have followed, where they have found substance and where they have not," Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) told reporters shortly after his committee was briefed by FBI Director James Comey. In a separate interview, Schiff said Comey declined to answer many of the lawmakers' questions and that such reticence "can't persist.". “If we're going to do our job, the FBI is going to have to fully cooperate with us, and that means they can't say, 'We'll tell you about this but we won't tell you about that,'" Schiff told ...

Rep. Adam Schiff On Trump's Wiretapping Claims And Russia

... What's worse. SCHIFF: Well, I think people rightly assume that there is no evidence to support what the president is saying and many want to hypothesize that this is just a very clever stratagem, a distraction, in this case to distract from the controversy swirling around Jeff Sessions. And certainly there may be an element of distraction. But I think following on the heels of the president making an equally astounding and baseless claim that millions of undocumented immigrants voted and that's why he was deprived of the popular vote - he says these things with such a conviction that, you know, we have to admit the very simplest explanation. And that is he can't separate what is true and what he wants to believe, what, you know, he gets from conspiracy theorists. And he's willing to express these just bizarre ideas. And frankly this is probably the most troubling prospect of all, that this president can't separate fact from fiction. And in the context of the constitutional scheme of things with separation of powers, his attack on the courts, his attack on the free media, that he also has difficulty separating right from ...

Circumstantial Evidence Of Collusion’ Between Trump Campaign, Russia

... understand we are in a global war of ideas," Schiff said. "It's not communism versus capitalism but it is authoritarianism versus democracy and Putin is very much at the vanguard of that autocratic movement, and that ought to concern all of us.". The congressman has been briefed on matters related to Trump's still-unsubstantiated accusation that former President Obama ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower before the election. The White House has not offered any evidence to support this claim, first tweeted by Trump two weeks ago, and instead has asked Congress to investigate. A spokesperson for President Obama roundly rejected the idea. Schiff on Sunday said there was still no evidence to support Trump's accusation, responding to comments made by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in an earlier interview on "Meet the Press.". Collins said she wanted to "get to the bottom of this before saying what should be done," adding, "I don't know the basis for President Trump's assertion. And that's what I wish he would explain to us on the Intelligence Committee and to the American people. And I do ...

Read Rep. Adam Schiff's Opening Statement On Russian Meddling

... for two reasons: First, because we cannot do this work alone. Nor should we. We believe these issues are so important that the FBI must devote its resources to investigating each of them thoroughly; to do any less would be negligent in the protection of our country. We also need your full cooperation with our own investigation, so that we have the benefit of what you may know, and so that we may coordinate our efforts in the discharge of both our responsibilities. And second, I raise this because I believe that we would benefit from the work of an independent commission that can devote the staff and resources to this investigation that we do not have, and that can be completely removed from any political considerations. This should not be a substitute for the work that we, in the intelligence committees should and must do, but as an important complement to our efforts, just as was the case after 9/11. The stakes are nothing less than the future of liberal democracy. We are engaged in a new war of ideas, not communism versus capitalism, but authoritarianism versus democracy and representative government. And in this struggle, our adversary sees ...

The Unlikely Liberal Hero Adam Schiff Is Ready To Investigate Trump

... “They will do this again.”. Despite his understated reputation, Schiff has gained a quiet respect among foreign-policy liberals and reporters for his nuanced views on surveillance, war powers, and press freedoms. He championed reform of the Patriot Act after the revelations by Edward Snowden about the N. S. A.’s bulk collection of metadata. He pushed for a new, more tailored war authorization against Al Qaeda to replace the overly expansive one put in place after 9/11. And he has been outspoken on free-press issues, both in the United States and abroad. In response to the Russian hacks, Schiff’s preference was to have an outside investigation. The 9/11 Commission, run by Tom Kean, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, and Lee Hamilton, the former top House Democrat on both the intelligence and foreign-affairs committees, ...

Investigation Into Trump’s Wiretapping Claims To Be Done ‘very Publicly

... or whatever. The answer is the same, which is that, I think, there was a concern about what happened in the 2016 election.”. The White House spokesman said the intelligence committees have the capabilities to look into the issue objectively. Schiff said Trump will be “exposed” publicly if an investigation reveals that there is no merit to his claims. The intelligence committee already planned to investigate the relationship between Trump associates and Russian officials during the 2016 election. “If the President is going to make outlandish claims like this in the future, he needs to know he will be exposed and high-ranking people within the US government — like the director of our intelligence agencies and the FBI — will be forced to say the President wasn’t telling the truth,” the California Democrat said. Trump making accusations without providing evidence is harmful to democracy and ...

Trump's 'patently False' Wiretap Claims Are 'wrecking Ball' To Us Allies

... really at root here, Chuck, is this is just how the President does business. Now maybe this is the way he conducted his real estate business, with half-truths and sometimes no truths and a lot of bluster," Schiff said. "That, in my opinion, is no way to run a business, but it's an even worse way to run a country.". He said that Trump's allegations are "dangerous" to the United States and are "already alienating allies.". "I have a lot of respect for Susan Collins, but I have to differ with her on this," Schiff said, referring to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). "She said we need to get to the bottom of this. We are at the bottom. There is nothing at the bottom.". "Will Director Comey say that definitively tomorrow, do you expect?" Chuck Todd asked. "I expect that he will, and I hope we can put an end to this wild goose chase," Schiff replied. Rep. Schiff: Trump's Wiretapping claims "patently false, and the wrecking ball has banged into our allies." #MTP __link__/T 1 jr Juzt LA. — Meet the Press (@Meet The Press) March 19, 2017. White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Thursday cited a claim by Fox News commentator Andrew ...

Democrat Adam Schiff Tells Trump To Stop Treating Nato Like A Protection Racket

... to fact-filled articles about his embarrassing meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel by deriding them as “fake news.”. In response to those tweets, California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff nailed Trump for treating NATO like a protection racket. Glad you think it was great, @POTUS. Would have been greater if you didn't treat NATO like protection racket, or allies like deadbeats. __link__/Bbn 5 bui R 0 G. — Adam Schiff (@Rep Adam Schiff) March 18, 2017. Trump’s tweets were a reiteration of his position as stated Friday during Merkel’s visit when he complained that “many nations owe vast sums of money from past years and it is very unfair to the United States.”. Germany is supposed to spend 2 percent of its GDP on its own defense and is currently spending 1.2 percent , down from 2.5 percent before the collapse of the Soviet Union. Obviously, the United States, with the ...

U.s. Rep. Adam Schiff Talks Trump, Wiretaps And Ag Sessions

... he held witnesses when he was voting on their confirmation, he would be calling on them to step down after misleading them the way he did the Senate. So I think he should step down. He hasn’t met his own standards, but beyond that, because this Russia issue so suffuses the whole administration, I think that it’s impossible for him to oversee even part of this investigation.”. Rep. Schiff on how prosecuting an FBI agent cause in a sex for secrets trap by the Soviet Union and impacts his views on Russia now. “It certainly feels like I have come full circle because at that time, we were not only prosecuting an FBI agent for espionage, but I was working with other agents in the FBI to make the case, and to look at what the Russians did, how they operated, what they were after, and a lot of those questions are coming back now.”. Rep. Schiff on how the Russia investigation will help other countries. “One of the most ...