What else will it take to boot Adam Schiff? - JAFFA Wire no. 3
The outgoing House Intel Committee chair asked to stifle a journalist while publicly portraying himself as a fighter for "democracy". He cannot be allowed to remain in the House.
Recently with the Nancy Pelosi stepping down from House Democratic leadership, other Democrats have moved to the forefront like Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). But the most well-known Democrat might not be from the leadership, and he likely will be barred from seeking a seat on any committees during this term. Rep. Adam Schiff of California has remained in the public eye for the past several years thanks to his role in the first Trump impeachment and the Russiagate investigation. He has recently trended on Twitter as a result of the latest #TwitterFiles revelation by Matt Taibbi. The nickname has long been used in conservative circles to refer to the Democrat congressman from California, and even elicited a tribute article by a fan of his in the Chicago Tribune after the first Trump impeachment trial. Schiff has earned his status as a Democratic vanguard by opposing the Trump agenda with unparalleled zeal and fervor, and he amassed a voting record virtually identical to outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s.
Recently Pelosi’s successor Republican Kevin McCarthy (CA) has vowed to make good on a campaign promise to remove Schiff from his assignment to the House Select Committee on Intelligence. This measure is not merely a tit-for-tat response to the removal of GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees the previous two years, but also Schiff’s high handed behaviour since 2016:
Engaging in a process during the first Trump impeachment in 2019 where closed door Intel Committee hearings took witness testimony without adversarial cross examination, the equivalent of a “Star Chamber” where due process is not observed.
Claiming for more than two years that there was proof of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, only for Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation to fail to produce any evidence of such a relationship. Witnesses like Dr. Evelyn Farkas would state during public hearings that there was “very good evidence on Russia”. When asked during closed door hearings Farkas would deny knowing of any evidence for the Russian hacking or spying claims. Despite hearing the truth first hand during these hearings, Schiff maintained the public façade that he was uncovering evidence but never produced any.
During the first impeachment reading into the record a dialog between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that was completely fabricated and contradicted by the transcript of the phone call.
Publishing the private phone information of Trump lawyers, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), and administration aides as part of the impeachment report.
Most recently Schiff was exposed by journalist Matt Taibbi for pressuring Twitter to remove posts critical of the 2019 impeachment probe frm the platform. Whether or not he is the first to do so, Schiff has dragged Congress’s reputation into the gutter once more by attempting to throw around his authority to squelch the First Amendment rights of journalists like Paul Sperry of Real Clear Investigations. Sperry had at the time published the name of CIA analyst Eric Ciaramella, the alleged “whistleblower” who triggered the impeachment.
Earlier this month former Texas congressman Ron Paul called for Schiff to be expelled from Congress. He made the excellent point that members have been booted for less, mentioning the late Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH) who was expelled in 2002 for accepting bribes, racketeering, and tax evasion related to campaign funds he used for personal expenses. Prior to him the last person expelled was Michael “Ozzie” Myers (D-PA) who was expelled in 1980 after being exposed in an FBI bribery sting known as Abscam. Others thrown out were several congressmen that joined the Confederates in the Civil War, and as such their expulsion was a mere formality.
Still, I would argue that not only was Ron Paul correct on this point, but he did not go far enough. Adam Schiff’s actions and behaviour may go beyond those of any of the modern examples, because Congress as the legislature is supposed to act as a check on the power of the executive branch by reining in abuses through legislation, oversight and budgetary discretion. One element of this is the impeachment process. But in pursuing this process Schiff undertook to emulate the abusive behaviour of a tyrant. It is enough that the average citizen has to put up with federal bureaucrats, big tech companies, and zealous activists and non-profits that seek to abridge the freedoms of speech and the press.
Currently Democrats are up in arms trying to get new Speaker Kevin McCarthy to place newly elected Rep. George Santos (R-NY) before the ethics committee so he can be expelled. This penalty is probably warranted as Santos has been laid bare as a liar extraordinaire about all aspects of his private and professional life, but he has not had the chance yet to abuse his office, his lawmaker colleagues, and the Bill of Rights. They both deserve the ol’ heav-ho.