Schiff: We Must Remove Trump Before He Can ‘Cheat in the Next Election’
House Intelligence Committee chairman reveals Democrats' goal
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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff revealed that it's urgent they remove President Donald Trump from office because "he is threatening to cheat in the next election."
Schiff added that urgency is the reason why Democrats did not force witnesses to testify during the impeachment inquiry through court orders.
“We subpoenaed many of these witnesses, and because of the president’s obstruction, they ignore those lawful subpoenas,” Schiff told ABC News's “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
“If you argue that, well, the House needed to go through endless months or even years of litigation before bringing about an impeachment, you effectively nullify the impeachment clause.”
Schiff, who was recently named as an impeachment manager by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, raised the issue of imposing subpoenas when told that Democrats have not been able to get rid of any Republican senators who may vote against party lines or are even prepared to present witnesses to the impeachment trial.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated he now holds the votes to proceed with a trial on his own terms.
“The reality is, because what the president is threatening to do is cheat in the next election, you cannot wait months and years to be able to remove that threat from office,” Schiff said, despite Pelosi delaying sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
McConnell described Pelosi's delay as "one-woman blockade” of the impeachment process “produced absolutely nothing.”
Schiff also complained about being unable to see McConnell’s resolution for the trial timetable, claiming nobody's seen it, "except I suppose the White House lawyers.”
Mitch McConnell Has “Kill Switch” Option Up His Sleeve To Keep Dems In Line At Impeachment Trial
— Neon Nettle (@NeonNettle) January 20, 2020
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Schiff added:
"We’ll be fighting for a fair trial."
"As I mentioned before, that is really the foundation on which this all rests. If the Senate … prevails and there are no witnesses, it will be the first impeachment trial that goes to a conclusion without witnesses.”
On Sunday, Schiff accused the intelligence community of withholding "potentially relevant documents" from Congress regarding Ukraine, claiming the agency is refusing to hand over documents ahead of Trump's Senate impeachment trial.
"The intelligence community is beginning to withhold documents from Congress on the issue of Ukraine," he said.
"They appear to be succumbing to pressure from the administration. The NSA, in particular, is withholding what are potentially relevant documents to our oversight responsibilities on Ukraine, but also withholding documents potentially relevant that the senators might want to see during the trial."
