Resign, Schiff: A Conspiracist Should Not Be Leading House Intel Committee

A man with any scruples whatsoever would have already done the right thing. If House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude to resign from Congress, he could at least make a formal apology to the American people on the floor of the House of Representatives. If he can’t do even that much, he could at least take a vow of silence and confirm that his committee would not unnecessarily waste the taxpayers’ money by re-investigating the 2016 election. If he can’t even bring himself to do that much, he is a certified piece of trash.

We’ll give you three guesses as to which path he chose, and the first two don’t count.

In comments to reporters on Tuesday, Schiff said that he would not back down from his earlier remarks that Trump was guilty of both collusion and obstruction of justice. He insisted that regardless of Robert Mueller’s conclusions, he had personally seen “more than circumstantial evidence” that the Trump campaign conspired with Russian operatives. He said he was not bothered in the least by calls for his resignation.

“I’ve been attacked by the president and his allies ever since he took office,” said Schiff. “Nothing new.”

Well…there is one new thing. Just a small thing. It’s called the Mueller Report, and – unless Attorney General William Barr is putting his career, his reputation, and possibly even his very freedom at risk for the sake of mischaracterizing the report and protecting Trump – it says that the president is not guilty of either obstruction or collusion.

Oh, and newsflash: Barr isn’t doing any of that. Especially since all it takes to unravel such a coverup would be for Robert Mueller to call up NBC and grant them an interview. Hell, he could just tweet it, and the jig would be up. Anyone still clutching to this “Barr is a crook” storyline is a desperate conspiracy theorist who needs mental help. That’s fine for your average yahoo on Twitter, but it’s not fine for a congressman with subpoena powers.

“[Schiff] owes the American public an apology,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said. “Schiff has met the standard that he has imposed on other members of Congress of when they should step back from their positions. He has exceeded that standard, and there is no question he should step down from the Intel chairmanship.”

But he won’t, and we expect to see his bug-eyes peddling lies on MSNBC every night for months to come. What’s a little bit of truth, honor, and integrity compared to the chance of making a name for yourself?