Trump responded to House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff’s launch of an investigation into him by attacking Schiff and calling him a political hack.
Here is the story via the White House pool report as provided to PoliticusUSA:
POTUS responded to a single question, from Fox News correspondent John Roberts, about House Democrats moving forward with investigations despite his warning in last night’s SOTU address, namely Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff.
Trump responded by saying of Schiff, “Never heard of him.â€
“Under what basis would he do that?†POTUS asked of Schiff’s authority.
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“He’s just a political hack who’s trying to build a name for himself. It’s called presidential harassment.â€
Trump is blowing up because Schiff is investigating his finances
There are a few reasons why Trump went off. First, the House Intelligence Committee has turned over the testimony transcripts of Donald Trump Jr. to Robert Mueller for a perjury investigation, but what could be even more damaging to Trump is that Schiff’s committee will be investigating Trump money laundering.
Rep. Schiff said when the investigation was announced, “During the prior Congress, the Committee began to pursue credible reports of money laundering and financial compromise related to the business interests of President Trump, his family, and his associates. The President’s actions and posture towards Russia during the campaign, transition, and administration have only heightened fears of foreign financial or other leverage over President Trump and underscore the need to determine whether he or those in his Administration have acted in service of foreign interests since taking office.”
Trump has no control over the House investigation. He can’t stop it. He can’t interfere with it, and he can’t limit its scope.
Donald Trump is scared. It is called oversight, not presidential harassment, and House Democrats are about to drop a ton of it on Trump.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
