Adam Schiff Calls Trump ‘Charlatan,’ Vows to Send Him Back to the ‘Golden Throne He Came From’

Adam Schiff at California Democrat Convention
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Saturday attacked President Donald Trump as a “charlatan” and vowed to send him back to the “golden throne he came from” in a speech at the California Democratic Party State Convention in Long Beach.

“Two years ago I stood before you and I urged you to resist and you did, but we are more than a resistance now. We are a majority!” Schiff told attendees.

“We are a majority in one House, and we will become a majority in the other, and we will send that charlatan [President Trump] in the White House back to the golden throne he came from,” the California Democrat continued. He went on:

The most grave threat to the life and health of our democracy comes from within — from a president without ethical compass, without understanding of or devotion to our Constitution. There is nothing more dangerous than an unethical president who believes that he is above the law.

Earlier Saturday, President Trump lampooned the House intel panel chair, misspelling his name as “Schitt” in a tweet highlighting the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing 28,000 for the first time ever. The president tweeted:

Dow hits 28,000 – FIRST TIME EVER, HIGHEST EVER! Gee, Pelosi & Schitt have a good idea, “lets Impeach the President.” If something like that ever happened, it would lead to the biggest FALL in Market History. It’s called a Depression, not a Recession! So much for 401-K’s & Jobs!

Schiff’s comments came after the lawmaker lead this week’s inaugural public impeachment inquiry hearings, featuring top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine William Taylor, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent, and fired U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

On Friday, Schiff was met with harsh criticisms from Republicans and media figures for accusing President Trump of “witness intimidation” in response to the president’s tweet about Yovanovitch as she testified before impeachment investigators.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tweeted of Schiff’s claim:

This may be the single most ridiculous claim of the Dem show trial. No, the President’s tweeting is not “witness intimidation.” You may not like the tone of some or even many of his tweets, but it’s absurd to suggest that tweeting is an impeachable “high Crime [or] Misdemeanor.”

As Conservative radio host Mark Levin said:

I swear the media are not only vicious but they are nuts. But for the fact that Schiff read the president’s tweet to the witness during the course of the hearing, she would have not known about the tweet. How the hell is that witness tampering? Furthermore, it clearly hasn’t changed the fact that the witness is testifying willingly and sticking to her script.

Schiff also garnered blowback on Friday for interrupting Rep. Elaine Stefanik (R-NY) as she asked him whether he would continue to interrupt Republican lawmakers’ asking questions of witnesses, a fixture in previous, closed-door depositions.

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