WASHINGTON — After President Donald Trump blasted Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) as “one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington,” the congressman fired back with his own message for the commander in chief: Turn off the TV.
Schiff wrote on Twitter, “Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of ‘Executive Time.’ Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or … really anything else.”
Earlier, Trump had accused Schiff of leaking information, but he provided no evidence to back that claim. He wrote, “Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper! Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!”
At issue is efforts by Democrats to release a memo to counter one written by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The Nunes memo was released on Friday, despite the objections of the FBI and the Justice Department, and it outlined allegations that federal investigators involved in the probe of Russian election interference were biased against Trump.
Schiff, who is the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, says the Nunes memo misrepresents facts, and would like the committee to release the Democrats’ rebuttal. That will require a vote of the Republican-controlled committee, as well as review by Trump. Schiff is expected to call for a vote on the release of the Democrats’ rebuttal.
Democrats say the Nunes memo is an effort to undermine the ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump, however, claimed over the weekend that the Nunes memo “totally vindicates” him, even though the memo centers on the way that the FBI and Justice Department obtained warrants to conduct surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser. On Monday, Trump also tweeted support for Nunes as a “man of tremendous courage and grit.”
