Trump takes aim at House Intel Democrat: 'Little Adam Schiff...'
President Trump attacked Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Twitter Monday, accusing the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee of leaking classified information.
“Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper!” Trump tweeted, comparing Schiff with former FBI Director James Comey, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan.
“Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information,” Trump added. “Must be stopped!”
Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper! Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2018
“Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of ‘Executive Time,’” Schiff fired back in a tweet of his own. “Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or…really anything else.”
Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of “Executive Time.” Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or…really anything else. https://t.co/lVqQRu2Gjl
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 5, 2018
On Saturday, Trump tweeted that the controversial Republican memo prepared by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif. — which was declassified by Trump and released by the committee the day before — “totally vindicates” him in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
This memo totally vindicates “Trump” in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2018
“Quite the opposite, Mr. President,” Schiff responded. “The most important fact disclosed in this otherwise shoddy memo was that FBI investigation began July 2016 with your advisor, [George] Papadopoulos, who was secretly discussing stolen [Hillary] Clinton emails with the Russians.”
Quite the opposite, Mr. President. The most important fact disclosed in this otherwise shoddy memo was that FBI investigation began July 2016 with your advisor, Papadopoulos, who was secretly discussing stolen Clinton emails with the Russians. https://t.co/2rGOE1jGg2
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 3, 2018
Later Monday, Trump praised Nunes as “a man of tremendous courage and grit” who “may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed.”
Representative Devin Nunes, a man of tremendous courage and grit, may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed and what he has had to endure!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 5, 2018
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos” on Sunday, Schiff called the coordinated release of the Nunes memo “a political hit job on the FBI” under the guise of congressional “oversight.”
“If this was oversight, the committee members would want to read the underlying documents. I made a motion to allow them to read the documents. They voted it down,” Schiff said. “They voted against hearing from the FBI. When you do oversight, you haul them in under oath. You say, ‘Why was this included? Why wasn’t that included?’ The interest wasn’t oversight. The interest was a political hit job on the FBI in the service of the president.”
Schiff’s interview with Stephanopoulos was discussed during a segment on Trump’s favorite morning show, “Fox & Friends,” on Monday. “Of all the liars in the D.C. swamp, he is the gold medal winner,” Dan Bongino, former Secret Service agent turned right-wing pundit, said on the show shortly before Trump’s tweet was posted.
“Of all the liars in the D.C. swamp, [Adam Schiff] is the gold medal winner” –
— FOX & friends (
The House Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on Monday whether to release the Democratic rebuttal to Nunes’s four-page memo. If a majority of committee members vote to make it public, the president would have five days to approve or block such a move.
Following Friday’s release of the Nunes memo, Schiff predicted that public pressure for transparency would prevail, and that the Democratic rebuttal would be released.
“I think they’re going to be forced to release it,” Schiff told reporters on a conference call. “I think the president would be hard-pressed to try to suppress this memo, particularly since they claim they’re releasing the GOP memo in the interest of transparency.”