House Freedom Caucus Lawmakers Demand Adam Schiff’s Recusal From Impeachment Inquiry
BY JANITA KAN | October 10, 2019
(Epoch Times) – Members of the House Freedom Caucus have called on House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to recuse himself from the impeachment inquiry he has led against the president.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a dozen GOP lawmakers, including Chairman Andrew Biggs (R-Ariz.), argued that Schiff is not qualified to lead the investigation because of his panel’s interactions with a whistleblower who filed a complaint about a call President Donald Trump made with Ukraine’s president. Those interactions were found to have taken place before the complaint was actually filed.
“His interactions with the whistleblower make him a potential fact witness and his actions thus far have demonstrated that he is not qualified for this serious responsibility,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
The letter also said Schiff must answer questions about his interactions with the whistleblower under oath.
“The public knows little else about Chairman Schiff’s dealings with the whistleblower because Chairman Schiff has failed to disclose the interaction,” the letter states. “When asked directly whether the committee had any contact with the whistleblower, Chairman Schiff lied and said no.”
The news that the whistleblower had approached an intelligence committee staff member prior to filing the complaint was first reported by The New York Times. The staffer had passed on the information to Schiff.
That revelation garnered criticism from Republicans due to the fact that Schiff had lied about the interaction on television and also failed to notify the intelligence committee.
Along with concealing his panel’s contact with the whistleblower, Schiff also came under fire for mischaracterizing portions of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a committee hearing. The lawmaker claimed that Trump directed Zelensky to “make up dirt on my political opponent” a total of “seven times”,—an allegation pushed by House Democrats and the media and debunked by the actual call transcript. After being called out by committee members, Schiff said his version of the call was made “at least in parts, in parody.”
“For over two years, Adam Schiff misled the American people with his numerous attempts to manufacture evidence of collusion between Donald Trump and the Russian government,” Biggs said in a statement on Oct. 9. “Once that fairytale evaporated, Mr. Schiff quickly moved on to his next hoax: a non-existent quid pro quo between President Trump and the President of Ukraine.”
“This time, just like the Russian hoax, Mr. Schiff has been caught manipulating facts leading to baseless accusations against the President. Mr. Schiff is hardly an unbiased arbiter of this unauthorized impeachment process, and we call for his immediate recusal,” he added.
Biggs also introduced a motion in late September to condemn and censure Schiff for fabricating parts of Trump’s call with Zelensky…
Being in contact with a key witness and then lying about it renders Adam Schiff unqualified to lead a fair and just inquiry. Members of the House @FreedomCaucus call on Speaker Pelosi to request the immediate recusal of Adam Schiff. pic.twitter.com/zYpK5Z0DAl
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) October 9, 2019
Here’s The Washington Times’ article.
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House Freedom Caucus demands Adam Schiff’s ‘immediate recusal’ from impeachment probe
By Gabriella Muñoz | Wednesday, October 9, 2019
(The Washington Times) – House Freedom Caucus members demanded Wednesday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi oust Rep. Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat and intelligence committee chairman, from leading the impeachment investigation.
In a letter, 19 Caucus members, including new Chairman Andy Biggs, said Mr. Schiff cannot be trusted to lead the investigation because of his interactions with the person who filed a whistleblower complaint before the complaint over President Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president was filed…
Read the text of the letter below.
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October 9, 2019
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
H-232 The Capitol
Washington, D.C.20515
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
We request that you ask for the immediate recusal of Chairman Schiff as the head of this unauthorized impeachment inquiry. His interactions with the whistleblower make him a potential fact witness and his actions thus far have demonstrated that he is not qualified for this serious responsibility.
Prior to the filing of the complaint that led to the opening of this unauthorized impeachment inquiry, Chairman Schiff’s committee staff communicated with the whistleblower about the content of his complaint. According to reports, information from the whistleblower was then communicated to Chairman Schiff. The public knows little else about Chairman Schiff’s dealings with the whistleblower because Chairman Schiff has failed to disclose the interaction. When asked directly whether the committee had any contact with the whistleblower, Chairman Schiff lied and said no. In light of this, Chairman Schiff must be required to answer questions about his interactions with the whistleblower under oath, as he has proven that he cannot be trusted to be honest otherwise.
In 2017, you and your colleagues, including Chairman Schiff, demanded the recusal of then-Chairman Nunes from the Russia investigation because he allegedly met privately with a source to review sensitive information, without disclosing the meeting or the information to the committee. In keeping with past precedent, principles of fairness demand that you request the recusal of Chairman Schiff under these similar circumstances.
We urge you to give this matter your immediate attention. The integrity of this institution demands it.
Sincerely,
Andy Biggs
Member of Congress
Jody Hice
Member of Congress
Mark Meadows
Member of Congress
Warren Davidson
Member of Congress
Ken Buck
Member of Congress
Jeff Duncan
Member of Congress
Denver Lee Riggleman III
Member of Congress
Alex Mooney
Member of Congress
Bill Posey
Member of Congress
David Schweikert
Member of Congress
Louie Gohmert
Member of Congress
Russ Fulcher
Member of Congress
Let’s not forget this gem. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is a badass!
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Congressman Andy Biggs Introduces Motion to Condemn, Censure Adam Schiff
BY JANITA KAN | September 27, 2019
(Epoch Times) – Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) has introduced a motion on Thursday, Sept. 27 to condemn and censure House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for fabricating parts of a call between President Donald Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a committee hearing yesterday.
“During yesterday’s hearing, Chairman Schiff’s opening statement included a blatantly false retelling of President Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president,” Biggs said in a statement introducing his motion.
Biggs then went on to accuse House Democrats of toying with the impeachment process and called out Schiff for making a statement to mislead the American public.
“Democrats previously initiated an impeachment inquiry, which leads to one of the most serious, constitutional duties of Members of Congress: removal of the President of the United States. Through this process, if the President has committed high crimes or misdemeanors, Congress may overturn the election of the President and the will of the American people,” he said.
“It is, therefore, inexcusable to toy with the process and mislead the American public with such a statement.”
Although the transcript of the Trump-Zelensky call, which is the center of a whistleblower complaint that sparked a firestorm on Capitol Hill, was released on Wednesday, Schiff decided to provide his own summary of the call by mixing in words that Trump had not communicated…
Breitbart:
Freedom Caucus Urges Adam Schiff to Recuse Himself from Impeachment Inquiry
The Hill:
Conservative lawmakers demand Schiff’s recusal from Trump impeachment inquiry
h/t FM