Adam Schiff slams Republicans for 'shameful' conduct during impeachment
With the House Judiciary Committee vote on articles of impeachment of President Trump looming, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, joined The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Thursday night where he had some harsh words for his Republican colleagues in Congress. Republicans in the House have mounted a fiery defense of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, and Schiff admitted that what he’s heard took him by surprise.
“We are hearing astounding things from Republican members who are saying it’s OK to solicit foreign interference in an election, things I never would have imagined I would ever hear either party say,” Schiff said, adding, “For some of our members who are defending the Constitution, it is their finest hour. But for others who are willfully blinding themselves to this president’s misconduct, it is the most shameful hour.”
After the likely impeachment of Trump in the House, there will then be a trial in the GOP-led Senate starting early next year, during which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) has said they may not call any witnesses. Trump blocked high-level administration officials from testifying in the House, which led to the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress. Schiff made it clear he has his doubts that they’ll be called in the Senate because he doesn’t think Republicans want anymore information about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine to come out.
“The senators are gonna have to decide,” Schiff said, “do they want to hear from people like (John) Bolton and (Mick) Mulvaney, or are they simply going to say, ‘We don't want to know anymore because the truth we've already seen is damning enough. It's already hard enough for us to justify to the country why a president who would do such things should remain in office. We don't want to see or know anymore.’ It's ‘see no evil, hear no evil, do a lot of evil’ seems to be the philosophy.”
Schiff then posed a hypothetical situation, wondering what his Republicans colleagues might answer in the future when a grandchild asks what they did during these turbulent times.
“I wonder how they’re going to explain one day when their grandchild comes to them and says, ‘Granddad, grandmom, please tell me what you did when that unethical man, that terrible man, that man that was putting people in cages, dividing our country, extorting our allies, please tell me what you did to stand up to that man.’ What will their answer be?” Schiff asked. “For all too many, it will be nothing. It will be nothing except for shame.”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.
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