House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., doesn’t believe Attorney General William Barr should remain the country’s top law enforcement officer, comparing him in colorful terms with President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
“I hesitate to call him the AG — he’s really more the personal attorney to the president,” Schiff told the Center for American Progress’ 2019 Ideas Conference in Washington, D.C. “I think Bill Barr has all the duplicity of Rudy Giuliani without the good looks and general likability.”
Schiff announced earlier Wednesday that the Department of Justice agreed to turn over 12 categories of underlying counterintelligence documents from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation to his committee. The panel had subpoenaed the unredacted version of Mueller’s report and its supporting materials with a May 15 deadline. He told the audience he wasn’t sure whether the “last-minute decisions to comply” was “tactical” or whether it was “indicative of the thinking of the Justice Department that ultimately they are going to lose on this issues” in court.
The California Democrat added it was “more than reasonable to infer” his committee had asked former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to testify voluntarily in front of lawmakers.
“I think it is fully appropriate for him to come testify before Congress,” he said.
Schiff also reiterated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments after a Democratic conference meeting about whether the caucus should commence impeachment proceedings against Trump, saying the president had engaged in “a wholesale cover-up.” He praised Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., giving him “credit” for having the “guts” to become the first GOP member of Congress to join the chorus calling for Trump’s forcible removal from office.
“I’m grateful for what Justin Amash has done, I hope others will find their voice, because what really has the republic trembling right now is not just the lack of ethics and character of the president of the U.S. and his anti-democratic inclinations. But the fact that one party has made itself a cult of his personality, utterly unwilling to stand up to him,” the chairman said.
