By Nancy Thorner & Ed Ingold -
Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is the U.S. Representative for California's 28th congressional district. He has served in Congress since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Rep. Adam Schiff's profile is undoubtedly on the rise in Democratic politics. Until recently he was a well-regarded, but low-profile lawmaker in a Los Angeles market where he had to compete with two dozen other members of Congress for local media attention and 52 others for state-level press. His post as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, however, has placed Schiff at the center of the investigation into Russia's influencing in the 2016 presidential election and the potential involvement of President Donald Trump's campaign.
TV sets on CNN and other liberal cable channels have been full of Schiff over the past year. There is no doubt that Schiff is using his position in the House as his big break by his almost constant pressure on cable TV to raise his profile. From January 23, 2017 until February 25, 2018, Rep. Schiff participated in 227 television interviews, clocking a cumulative total of 26 hours, 4 minutes, and 10 seconds on television.
As impossible as this may sound, according to this report at Politico, Schiff might be laying the groundwork for a run for higher office – the Senate, the Governor's Mansion, or maybe even the White House.
In that Schiff is using the House's Russia investigation as a self-serving platform to increase his visibility, Schiff has the incentive to prolong, dramatize, and over hype the investigation, so he can continue his preening before the cameras.
In response to the high-level briefing between the FBI and selected members of Congress on 5/24/18, here is what Adam Schiff told reporters:
“Nothing we heard today has changed our view that there is no evidence to support any allegation that the FBI or any intelligence agency placed a spy in the Trump campaign or otherwise failed to follow appropriate procedures and protocols.”
According to Adam Schiff, the allegation of spying on the Trump campaign is a “nothing burger.” However, if you read closely, it is a play on words not unlike that employed by President Clinton leading up to his impeachment.
- Adam Schiff is not convinced. What would it take to convince him, the Constitutional reference to treason, “Confession in open court or the testimony of two eye witnesses”? Based on his history of histrionics, Schiff would debate even that.
- There is also equivocation as to the definition of “spy.” According to various Obama officials, they were “confidential informants,” (James Clapper), or “human resources,” (James Comey). Call it what you will, an uninvited “guest” reporting your activities to an outside agency is spying *.
- The “appropriate procedures and protocols,” were defined by Obama officials as needed. Witness the use of the debunked “Steele Dossier” used to justify eavesdropping on telephones in the Trump tower (ostensibly only Carter Page, but in fact, all phone calls, subsequently unmasked by Susan Rice).
- Schiff’s statement was a negative conclusion, devoid of any classified content. The only way to refute this conclusion would require divulging highly sensitive, classified information, which Schiff can be comfortable will not occur. It is one thing to say “I see no evidence,” and quite another thing to say what that evidence is.
- Schiff’s response is typical of the Democratic leadership – Deny, Delay, and Deflect
"According to Wikipedia, “Spying” is the obtaining of confidential information without the permission of the source. This should cover Clapper’s “confidential informants,” et. al. The sad thing is that the major news organizations accept these word games at face value, passing them along as gospel in their derision of all things “Trump."
How was President Obama involved? According to emails between FBI Agent Peter Strzok and associate Lisa Page, “POTUS wants to know everything.”
In short, the Democrats are in a panic over the ongoing revelations of machinations of the Obama administration to undermine President Trump’s administration, transcending the loose boundaries of political hyperbole, and venturing into the dark arts of international intrigue. Their obsession with Russian Collusion is folding back on itself.
