Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said he should have been more transparent about the contact his committee had with a whistleblower that ultimately triggered an impeachment investigation.
He was responding to a question from CBS News host Margaret Brennan, who asked him: “Do you regret saying that we, the committee, werent in touch with the whistleblower?”
“I should have been much more clear,” Schiff told CBS on Sunday.
Schiff then said, “And I said so the minute it was brought to my attention that I was referring to the fact that when the whistleblower filed the complaint, we had not heard from the whistleblower. We wanted to bring the whistleblower in at that time. But I shouldve been much more clear about that.”
Several weeks ago, Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said that his committee hadnt directly spoken to the whistleblower.
His office earlier this month confirmed that the whistleblower approached House Intelligence Committee staff before the complaint was filed, effectively giving Democrats in the House advance warning of the accusations. It came after The New York Times reported that Schiff allegedly “learned about the outlines” of the complaint “days before” it was filed. The whistleblowers attorneys said the person never spoke to Schiff about the matter.
The aide told the whistleblower to follow the standard procedure, which includes hiring a lawyer and filing a complaint in the intelligence community. The aide then told Schiff about the conversation, the NY Times reported.
House Democrats have entered week four of their inquiry as they investigate President Donald Trump and other White House staffers, accusing Trump of pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Trump has denied the claims.
A declassified transcript of a July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, released by the White House on Sept. 25, quotes Trump as saying, “Theres a lot of talk about Bidens son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great.” From the transcript, Trump does not appear to pressure Zelensky or offer any quid pro quo.
Schiff, in the Sunday interview, said that Congress might not seek testimony from the whistleblower, who is said to be part of the intelligence community.
“Given that we already have the call record, we dont need the whistleblower, who wasnt on the call, to tell us what took place during the call,” Schiff said. “We have the best evidence of that.”
Trump has called for the identity of the whistleblower to be revealed
“I dont know why a person that deRead More – Source
