House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Wednesday morning, before the House's day-long debate and vote on impeaching President Donald Trump, that it's vital to move forward because the president has made it clear that he won't stop seeking foreign intervention in U.S. elections.
"His lawyer even this week was in Ukraine seeking to dig up the same kind of dirt, so the timing is really driven by the urgency," the California Democrat, who has come under fire by Trump and Republicans for his handling of the impeachment inquiry, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
He added that Trump's alleged actions when it comes to Ukraine have constituted a "national security issue (and) an issue of our election integrity."
If Trump is seeking to "essentially cheat in the next election," the "remedy is impeachment," Schiff added. "That’s why we’ve moved forward and we’ve done so methodically, but nonetheless with a sense of urgency."
Schiff also on Wednesday joked about Trump's fiery letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which slammed him relentlessly, saying the president's comments were "probably the nicest thing" Trump has "had to say about me in some time."
In the letter, Trump accused Schiff of cheating and using "shameless lies and deceptions" in his push for impeachment. Schiff responded that the president "does nothing but project onto others his own lack of morality. This is someone who mocks others constantly, but can't stand to be mocked himself."
Schiff also criticized Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for their complaints about the impeachment process and their refusal to seek testimony from people like former national security adviser John Bolton, acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, or Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
"They do want to complain about process but at the same time they don't really want to see the evidence," said Schiff.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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