Kellyanne Conway: If Adam Schiff Testifies, He'll Have To Answer to Me
The Democrats’ impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump has now shifted from the House Intelligence Committee to the House Judiciary Committee, where official articles of impeachment would be drafted and submitted for a vote.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, the New York Democrat, has scheduled an impeachment hearing for Wednesday, but White House Counsel Pat Cipollone made it clear in a scathing response letter that the president had no intentions of participating in the decidedly partisan and unfair process.
However, senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has let it be known that she herself would be more than happy to participate if Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the veritable ringleader of the whole impeachment circus, were somehow brought in to testify, RealClearPolitics reported.
Conway’s remarks in a briefing with reporters at the White House on Monday followed comments about Schiff being called to testify that were delivered on Sunday by Republican Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican member on the Judiciary Committee, during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
Collins told host Chris Wallace that Schiff, who delivered an impeachment report to the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, would be his “first and foremost witness” to call if he was actually provided the opportunity to call any witnesses at all by Nadler, who by special rules retains the ability to veto any Republican subpoenas.
“[Schiff] has put himself into that position,” Collins said. “If he chooses not to [testify], then I really have to question his veracity in what he’s putting in his report.”
“It’s easy to hide behind a report,” Collins added. “But it’s going to be another thing to actually get up and have to answer questions.”
While it seems highly unlikely that Schiff would actually appear to testify before the Judiciary Committee and make his case for impeachment, Conway made it known on Monday that she was game to question him if he did, despite the White House having announced that it wouldn’t send any representatives to the one-sided affair.
“Our White House counsel has made very clear dating back to October 8 that this is an unconstitutional and illegitimate process, and we stand by that. We haven’t seen anything to change that,” Conway told reporters about the ongoing impeachment charade.
She noted that polling showed support for impeachment from independents had fallen sharply in recent weeks and that moderate and freshmen Democrats in Congress — especially in districts Trump won in 2016 — were struggling to explain to their constituents why impeachment is more important than getting any other work done.
“So, they have to be more definitive about what they are doing. And they are not definitive. First, it is in the Judiciary Committee, then it is in the Intelligence Committee, now it is back to Judiciary,” she said.
“Is Adam Schiff going to testify? Because he is a fact witness. That would be great,” Conway added. “I’ll tell you what, if Adam Schiff testifies, I’ll show up on behalf of the White House.”
.@KellyannePolls: “If Adam Schiff testifies, I’ll show up on behalf of the White House.” pic.twitter.com/0vM6cx03Xa
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 2, 2019
Again, it seems rather unlikely that Schiff would actually agree to testify before the committee, but it would be nothing short of amazing to see Conway, a self-proclaimed “recovering lawyer” — grill him while he was under oath. And there’s no telling what she might draw from him if given that chance.
Fox News noted that there are valid reasons for Republicans to want to compel Schiff’s testimony, particularly given the strong suspicion that he and his staff communicated and coordinated with the so-called “whistleblower” prior to the Ukraine controversy blowing up, not to mention his overt partisanship in handling the closed-door and public hearings in his committee, on top of his long-standing and openly declared desire to see President Trump removed from office.
If Schiff were to actually testify, whether he was questioned by Conway or, really, anybody else, this whole sham of a baseless impeachment inquiry against a president he dislikes could come crumbling down all around him.
And that would simply be glorious to see.
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