A Washington Examiner magazine cover story put it well: Adam Schiff is the worst man for the job of impeaching President Trump.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee seems locked in a race with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to see who can discredit their case for impeaching President Trump fastest. They’re supposed to be making the case that the president broke the law by stalling the release of foreign aid to Ukraine and requesting that the Ukrainians launch investigations into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. So every time they mention the words “Russia” or “Putin,” the Democrats distract from their actual point, do their entire caucus a disservice, and shoot their credibility in the foot.
That hasn’t stopped them, though. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
On Fox News Sunday this past weekend, Schiff went up against anchor Chris Wallace, who questioned the Democrat on his caucus’ case for impeachment. Wallace pressed Schiff on why, as I noted last week, none of the “bribery,” “extortion,” or other criminal allegations Democrats have thrown about ever made it into their articles of impeachment. Instead, the articles focus on nebulous, vague terms such as “abuse of power.”
Suffice it to say Schiff’s response was less than impressive.
The Democratic congressman blustered, eventually saying that the nebulous “abuse of power” better captures “the full range of the president’s misconduct … his efforts to invite Russian interference, to obstruct the [Mueller inquiry].” In this, Schiff is only following his party’s leadership. Pelosi has repeatedly invoked Russia while making the case against the president, even in regards to his conduct toward Ukraine, saying: “This isn’t about Ukraine, it’s about Russia… All roads lead to Putin.”
Woah, woah, woah. Democrats, make up your minds, please! Are you impeaching Trump for his admittedly improper use of foreign aid to influence Ukraine, or are you still harping on the fake conspiracy theory you were pushing for two years about Trump colluding with Russia to steal the 2016 election? As most people know by now, that narrative was debunked by special counsel Robert Mueller. His detailed report found no evidence of such collusion, much to the chagrin of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and her friends over at CNN.
As far as impeaching Trump over “Russia” scandals is concerned, that ship sailed a long time ago. Every time Democrats such as Pelosi and Schiff dredge up their old conspiracies or otherwise conflate the president’s conduct concerning Ukraine with Russia and Putin, they give an already impeachment-fatigued public one more reason to stop taking them seriously.
