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Adam Schiff Says He Doesn't Regret Paraphrasing Trump Phone Call with Ukraine 

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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said Sunday that he has no regrets about his so-called parody of President Donald Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During an interview with the California Democrat on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Chuck Todd asked if he regretted his opening statement on the phone call at the center of Trump’s impeachment, in which Schiff offered a fictionalized version of Trump’s words.

Schiff replied with one word: “No.”



Trump fired off his opinion of the interview on Twitter.

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“Sleepyeyes Chuck Todd of Meet the Corrupt Press, just had a ‘totally’ softball interview with conman Adam Schiff, never even calling Shifty out on his fraudulent statement to Congress, where he made up ALL of the words of my conversation with the Ukrainian President! FAKE NEWS,” the president said.

“After having been exposed as a fraud and corrupt, can anyone, including Sleepyeyes Chuck Todd of Fake @NBCNews, continue to listen to his con?” he continued.

Trump has repeatedly objected to Schiff’s remarks at an Intelligence Committee hearing in September, which put words in Trump’s mouth that made it seem as though the president was demanding a quid pro quo from Zelensky on the call.

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“We’ve been very good to your country. Very good. No other country has done as much as we have. But you know what, I don’t see much reciprocity here,” Schiff said, playing the part of Trump during the phone call.

“I hear what you want. I have a favor I want from you, though and I’m gonna say this only seven times, so you better listen good. I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent, understand? Lots of it … on this and on that,” Schiff said.

Do you think Schiff undermined his case by putting words in the president's mouth?

“I’m gonna put you in touch with people and not just any people. I’m gonna put you in touch with the Attorney General of the United States … Bill Barr. He’s got the whole weight of the American law enforcement behind him and I’m gonna put you in touch with Rudy. You’re gonna love him, trust me. You know what I’m asking, so I’m only going to say this a few more times in a few more ways. And by the way, don’t call me again; I’ll call you when you’ve done what I asked,” Schiff said.

The comment was brought up Saturday as Trump’s lawyers started making their case to the Senate.

“That’s fake,” deputy White House counsel Mike Purpura said Saturday in Trump’s impeachment trial, according to The Hill. “That’s not the real call. That’s not the evidence here.”

Schiff was one of the main speakers last week as House Democrats sought to make their case against Trump to the Senate.

During his “Meet the Press” interview Sunday, he attacked Senate Republicans for their position that the Senate should not call additional witnesses beyond those called when the House moved quickly to pass articles of impeachment against Trump last month.

“I think they’re deathly afraid of what witnesses will have to say,” Schiff said. “And so their whole strategy has been deprive the public of a fair trial. They don’t frame it that way, but that’s in essence it.

“They have a very heavy burden, though, with that because the American people understand what a fair trial is. A fair trial requires witnesses. A fair trial does not consist of the person who is charged agreeing with the judges to deprive the prosecution from being able to make a case.”

Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York offered a rebuttal to such claims Friday on Twitter.

The Senate was scheduled to reconvene the impeachment trial at 1 p.m. EST Monday.

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Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




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