Adam Schiff: Mueller report condemns, it doesn't vindicate
by Naomi Lim
| April 18, 2019 04:56 PM
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ripped into President Trump on Thursday for his contacts with Russians and those of his 2016 campaign, as well as conduct that special counsel Robert Mueller examined for possible obstruction of justice.
"Whether these acts are criminal or not, whether the obstruction of justice was criminal or not, or whether these contacts were sufficiently elicit or not to rise to the level of a criminal conspiracy, they are unquestionably dishonest, unethical, immoral and unpatriotic and should be condemned by every American," Schiff said in Burbank, Calif. "That is not the subject of vindication. That is the subject of condemnation. And that is how I think we should view the Mueller report."
Schiff warned Trump that congressional investigations would continue, gleaning from the document released earlier Thursday that Mueller "wanted the Congress to consider the repercussions and consequences" of his conclusions.
"Well, it's certainly not game over in the sense that there's a lot more we need to know that's redacted in this report," Schiff said, referring to Trump's "Game of Thrones"-inspired tweet from Thursday morning.
The California Democrat also blasted Attorney General William Barr for his rollout of the partial report, including a press conference that preceded both the document being made available to lawmakers and the public.
"The attorney general did a grave disservice to the country by misrepresenting significant parts of the Mueller report by attempting to put a positive spin for the president on the special counsel's findings," said Schiff. "The attorney general is not the president's personal lawyer, although he may feel he is. He is supposed to be the highest law enforcement officer in the land, and he is supposed to represent the interests of the American people."
Barr is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on May 2. Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., on Thursday also formally requested that Mueller appear before the panel on May 23. The special counsel has also been invited to speak to the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff said Thursday.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/adam-schiff-mueller-report-condemns-it-doesnt-vindicate