At the beginning of another House Intelligence Committee
hearing about Russia Thursday morning, all nine Republican members submitted a
letter for the record calling for Chairman Adam Schiff to step down.
"Since prior to the inauguration of President Trump
in January 2017, you have been at the center of a well-orchestrated media
campaign claiming, among other things, the Trump campaign colluded with the
Russia government.
"Indeed, before the appointment of Robert Mueller as Special
Counsel, you alleged during one of your frequent television interviews that
there was 'more than circumstantial evidence' of collusion but you could not
'go into particulars,'" the letter states.
"You continue to proclaim
in the media that there is 'significant evidence of collusion.' You further
states you 'will continue to investigate the counterintelligence issues.
"That
is the president or people around him comprised in any way by a hostile foreign
power?' You willingness to promote a demonstrably false narrative is
alarming."
"The findings of the Special Counsel conclusively
refute your past and present assertions and have exposed you as having abused
your position to knowingly promote false information, having damaged the
integrity of this Committee, and undermined faith in U.S. government
institutions," the letter continues.
"Your actions both past and
present are incompatible with your duty as Chairman of this Committee, which
alone in the House of Representatives has the obligation and authority to
provide effective oversight of the U.S. intelligence community.
"As such, we
have no faith in your ability to discharge your duties in a manner consistent
with your Constitutional responsibility and urge your immediate resignation as
Chairman of this Committee."
The letter was signed by Republican Congressman Devin
Nunes (Ranking Member), Michael Conaway, Michael Turner, Brad Wenstrup, Chis Stewart,
Eric Crawford, Elise Stefanik, Will Hurd and John Ratcliffe.
Even after Robert Mueller found no collusion during his
two-year-long Special Counsel investigation, Schiff continues to shamelessly
push the claim President Trump and members of his campaign colluded with
Russians to win the 2016 election.
________________
RELATED STORY
The Mueller Bitter Enders
By Kimberley A. Strassel | The Wall Street Journal
The special counsel wraps up his work and opens up another
Democratic split.
Democratic
Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks in Manchester, N.H., Feb. 25. PHOTO: ELISE
AMENDOLA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democrats are struggling over the direction of their
party, and this week things got more complicated. In addition to the splits
over the Green Leap Forward, Medicare for All and constitutional rewrites,
Robert Mueller’s report has opened a new divide.
It’s Team Reality vs. Team
Bitter Enders.
Granted, the end of the special counsel’s probe is a
shattering blow to Trump haters. So long as Mr. Mueller continued his
investigation, the left and its media mates were free to spin collusion claims
and nurse hopes of a toppled Trump presidency. Anyone who pushed back was told
to sit down, shut up and wait until Mr. Mueller ruled. He now has. The party is
over.
Realists understand the risks of continuing to dwell on
collusion and obstruction of justice. Americans are weary of Mueller headlines.
In a CNN poll this month, respondents listed the economy, immigration and
health care as their most important issues for 2020. No one listed the
special-counsel probe.
The Democrats who are actually charged with electing
more Democrats understand this. In a leadership meeting Monday night, Illinois
Rep. Cheri Bustos, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee,
laid out the alarming reality: Voters have little idea what the Democratic
policy agenda is; the party urgently needs to move beyond 2016.
The realists also understand the Mueller probe has gained
the party little up to now, beyond gratifying its base. While the resistance
wallowed in collusion hysteria, Donald Trump presided over tax reform, massive
deregulation and a remake of significant parts of the judiciary. He’s an
incumbent presiding over a growing economy, with a campaign awash in money.
A
Politico story recently warned the left not to put much stock in approval
ratings: “If the election were held today,” the reporters wrote, Mr. Trump
would “likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple
economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and
losses.”
This is why Speaker Nancy Pelosi derided impeachment as
“not worth it.” And it’s why she held another closed-door caucus meeting
Tuesday, lecturing members on the need to stay focused on issues that helped
Democrats in 2018. Her deputies, at least, got the message. House Democratic
Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries didn’t even mention Mr. Mueller in his opening
statement in an ensuing press conference. Majority Whip James Clyburn declared
the Mueller chapter “closed.”
But the Bitter Enders are having none of it. Liberal
pundits and TV hosts now accuse Attorney General Bill Barr of a “coverup,” and
meditate on the cosmic meaning of “exoneration.” Former FBI Director James
Comey claimed on NBC that the Mueller report was deficient. Liberal legal
analysts explained that Mr. Trump is still guilty of all kinds of
counterintelligence sins outside Mr. Mueller’s jurisdiction.
Mrs. Pelosi’s bigger problem is her members. Michigan’s
Rashida Tlaib responded to the Mueller report by introducing a resolution for
impeachment. California’s Eric Swalwell went on air to insist—no kidding—that
the debunked Steele dossier was “factual.”
Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam
Schiff—in response to a call by every committee Republican for his resignation—doubled
down on his irresponsible claims, arguing that there is clear “evidence” of
collusion.
It would be one thing if the Bitter Enders
were few or marginalized. But they make up a significant portion of the
Democratic House majority.
Hailing primarily from liberal
districts, they need to worry not as much about re-election as about furious
progressive activists, who for two years were promised conspiracy, obstruction
and impeachment, and still demand it. The presidential candidates have a
similar interest in whipping up those crowds with Trump-collusion talk.
Mr. Schiff, meanwhile, holds a powerful post, drives
headlines, and has a reputational interest in carrying on. Chairmen Elijah
Cummings and Jerry Nadler, of the Oversight and Judiciary committees respectively,
are attempting to pursue broader investigations—of Trump finances or supposed
corruption.
But one interesting legacy of the Mueller probe is that any
investigation into Mr. Trump—no matter what the topic—may come across as more
of the same. And Mrs. Pelosi has little ability to rein in these senior
members.
Finally, there’s the media, which—after a humiliating
week—has a self-interest in giving airtime to those who would diminish its
atrocious performance.
Mrs. Pelosi tried to change the subject this week to
health care. A few reporters bit, but most of the headlines are still about Mr.
Mueller. And think of all the forthcoming news hooks—the release of the report
itself, the inspector general findings, the Senate Judiciary Committee
investigation.
The question for reality-minded Democrats is how they put
the Russia genie back in the bottle. It was supposed to spell the end of Mr.
Trump. If they play their cards wrong, it could help him to re-election.
