Top Republican on House Judiciary Committee calls for Adam Schiff to testify
The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee on Sunday called for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff to testify before the panel in its impeachment hearing.
Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, is the latest ally of President Donald Trump to call for Schiff, who has been leading House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into the President and Ukraine, to provide testimony.
The House Intelligence Committee is expected to allow lawmakers to review its impeachment report on Monday ahead of a scheduled vote to approve it Tuesday. That report will detail allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals to help his 2020 reelection effort, and withheld a White House meeting and $400 million in security aid to Ukraine.
The House Judiciary Committee will then hold its first hearing on Wednesday to consider articles of impeachment, with a panel of expert witnesses testifying.
“First and foremost, the first person that needs to testify is Adam Schiff. Adam Schiff is the author of this report,” Collins told Fox’s Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” He said if Schiff “chooses not to testify, then I really question his veracity and what he’s putting in his report.”
Schiff told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” last week that he would not testify in a Senate impeachment trial if the House moves articles of impeachment against Trump to the chamber. He said calls from Republicans for him to do so signal that “they are not serious about what they are doing.”
“There is nothing to testify about. I think if the President or his allies in the Senate persist it means they are not serious about what they are doing,” Schiff told Tapper. “What would I offer in terms of testimony that I heard Dr. (Fiona) Hill in open hearing say such and such? That is not pertinent. The only reason for them to go through with this is to mollify the President and that is not a good reason to try to call a member of Congress as a witness.”
Democrats set a December 6 deadline for the White House to say whether it will participate in impeachment proceedings.
