Republicans are calling for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff to resign following the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, claiming he promoted allegations of collusion against the president that have now been proven false.
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News Monday that Schiff “ought to resign today” for “peddling a lie, day after day after day, unchallenged and not under oath” that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) joined in the condemnation, telling Politico that Schiff “owes the American public an apology.”
“Schiff has met the standard that he has imposed on other members of Congress of when they should step back from their positions,” McCarthy said, according to Politico. “He has exceeded that standard, and there is no question he should step down from the Intel chairmanship.”
Schiff has long been a critic of President Donald Trump. In April 2018, he tweeted that Trump can only claim “no collusion” if “you must ignore Russia’s extensive efforts to help your campaign, the litany of communications between Russia & your campaign, & the massive effort to conceal these contacts.”
As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff launched investigations into whether foreign governments had leverage over the president or his business and questioned alleged limitations put on Mueller’s subpoena power regarding Deutsche Bank. According to Politico, the Committee plans to interview a Trump associate about the attempted Trump Tower Moscow deal Wednesday and conduct a hearing on Kremlin influence in the 2016 election Thursday.
While the House Intelligence Committee continues to investigate, Mueller’s report states there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Schiff stated Sunday that he trusts the special counsel’s determination, but still believes the evidence should be made public. He also questioned how quickly Attorney General William Barr “set aside” obstruction of justice “evidence that ‘does not exonerate’ Trump.”
Mueller spent two years investigating obstruction of justice and found evidence that “does not exonerate” Trump. Barr took two days to set aside that evidence.
The entire report must be published and evidence provided to Congress so the American people can judge for themselves.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 24, 2019