Adam Schiff Grilled for Avoiding Witnesses Who'd ‘Challenge’ Jan 6 Narrative
CNN's Dana Bash asks Schiff if it's 'intentional'
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Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has faced allegations that he only selects witnesses for the January 6 Committee who won't "challenge" the Democrats' anti-Trump narrative.
During a Sunday morning interview, CNN anchor Dana Bash grilled Schiff, a key member of the House Select Committee that's "investigating" the Capitol Hill riot.
Bash asked Schiff directly why the committee had not publicly interviewed any witnesses who might “challenge” the narrative.
Schiff appeared on CNN's “State of the Union” to talk about the ongoing televised public committee hearings.
She pressed Schiff several times to reveal the "evidence" he claimed to have that President Donald Trump had been involved in plans to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Schiff refused, however.
Bash pressed Schiff on what might come next if such evidence should come to light.
"Have you seen evidence that the Justice Department has already opened an investigation into the former president?” she asked.
Schiff said that nothing in the public record indicated the Justice Department had begun to move in that direction.
"I have not seen, for example, grand juries convene in places they would be convened,” he explained.
"You’ve been critical of the Justice Department for moving slowly.
"If you’ve done so much work, why not help them out?” Bash continued.
She then asked why the January 6th Committee would not pass anything they discovered directly on to the DOJ.
"Well, you know, we certainly will help them,” Schiff replied.
"We want them to particularize what they’re asking for and it’s our intention when we conclude the investigation to make public our findings in great detail.
"But, you know, we have a job to do as well. We’re doing that.
"And we’re doing this consistent with how the — our branch of government has operated and executive branch has operated.”
Bash continued to press, going on to ask about the witnesses whose testimony had already been made public — and asking whether the committee was avoiding witnesses who might “challenge” the desired narrative.
"Why aren’t you calling witnesses in a public way who might challenge the committee?” she asked.
"Is that intentional because you don’t want to deviate from the storyline that you’re trying to present to the public and, of course, potentially to the Justice Department?”
"No. I mean, we are interviewing, frankly, anyone that has relevant evidence,” Schiff insisted.
"We’re putting that relevant evidence before the public and we’re doing it in a way that is the most cohesive and that we can get across the salient points to the public.”
WATCH:
Dana Bash grills Rep. Adam Schiff over not calling witnesses who "challenge" the Democrat narrative in #January6thHearings: "Is that intentional because you don’t want to deviate from the story line that you’re trying to present to the public?" pic.twitter.com/eTHADQdGwq
— Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) June 19, 2022
