Responding to Donald Trump’s clueless tweets accusing him of committing a crime, House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) slammed the president and his son for accusing him of leaking sensitive information.
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In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, Schiff gave the president and son Don Jr. a quick lesson on what it means to illegally leak classified information, which he clearly isn’t guilty of.
Video:
Adam Schiff Just Tore Apart Trump And His Son For Not Knowing The Definition Of ‘Leaking’ pic.twitter.com/054AAKx7sG
— Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) February 6, 2018
Schiff ripped Trump and Don Jr. apart for not understanding the law:
Well, I guess [Trump] accused me of two crimes. He accused me of illegally leaking classified information, and as I didn’t give him a standing ovation during the State of the Union, I’m apparently a traitor as well. But in terms of the accusation of leaking, what that refers to is when Don Jr. came before our committee, after publicly saying that he was going to fully cooperate, he invoked a nonexistent attorney/client privilege to refuse to answer questions about his conversation with his father in the preparation of that false statement about the meeting at Trump Tower with the Russians. Now, I called him out on that. And that’s been our practice. We don’t talk about what the witnesses affirmatively say, but when they refuse to answer questions, we don’t let them hide behind closed doors. And, indeed, the Republicans have done the same thing when they took issue with Steve Bannon refusing to answer questions in closed session. So that’s really what he’s complaining about, he and his son. That’s not a leak, but it is calling them on the carpet for refusing to answer very relevant questions that go to the issue of whether the President of the United States obstructed justice.
What the Democratic congressman did following Don Jr.’s closed-door testimony wasn’t out of the ordinary. As Schiff noted, it’s been the practice of Republicans and Democrats in the past to discuss when witnesses refuse to answer certain questions.
In the case of Trump’s son, he refused to answer key questions and “invoked a nonexistent attorney/client privilege” when doing so. Trump is just sore that Schiff called him out for it.
The Democrat’s tough remarks come after Trump posted this ridiculous tweet, accusing him of illegally leaking classified information:
Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper! Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2018
As if it weren’t already obvious, Trump is desperately lashing out. He knows that Robert Mueller’s investigation is reaching a fever pitch. With each passing day, the special counsel vise tightens a little bit more around him, his closest advisers and family members. For Trump, that leaves only one option: Start name-calling like a child.
But as Jason Easley wrote earlier, Rep. Schiff doesn’t mess around. Trump’s baseless attacks don’t faze him.
“The lesson here for Trump is that he is dealing with grown-ups now, and Adam Schiff isn’t going to play with him,” Easley wrote.
The ongoing investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia and possible obstruction of justice needs to continue unimpeded, and it’s members of Congress like Adam Schiff who will ensure that’s exactly what happens – despite the president’s desperate and childish attacks.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
