House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) blasted the Democrats’ “focus impeachment” on Monday and House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff’s absence specifically, contending that the majority party knows its partisan impeachment effort is “going nowhere in the Senate.”
Collins delivered a fiery statement at the House Judiciary Committee’s second public impeachment hearing on Monday, where both sides are expected to make arguments for and against the impeachment of President Trump. Collins questioned the point of the hearing, suggesting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) essentially undercut the Democrats’ effort to appear bipartisan and fair by officially calling for articles of impeachment last week.
This is about a “clock and a calendar,” Collins said – something that became evident last week when Pelosi “walked up to the podium and said, ‘Go write articles of impeachment.’”
“She quit. She just stopped. Go write articles of impeachment,” Collins stated, adding that she “undercut” Democrats.
“She took the thrill out of the room. You’re writing articles of impeachment. Why couldn’t we just save that time today, and if you’re going to write articles of impeachment, go ahead and write them?” he continued, quoting Pelosi, who said that you have to be “so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan” in an impeachment effort.
“All of which, we are not,” he said before blasting Schiff, who refused to show up to Monday’s hearing.
He said:
Adam Schiff, when he told us he wasn’t going to come – instead, hide behind his staff – he also told us that we’re going to keep investigating because they know this is going nowhere in the Senate, and they’re desperate to have an impeachment vote on this president.
Comparing this impeachment inquiry to that of past impeachments, citing former Bill Clinton’s infamous “I did not have sex with that woman” line, Collins said this impeachment hearing will likely be defined by the question “Where is the impeachable offense?”
He added that this impeachment might go down in history as the “focus group impeachment” due to the absence of a crime.
“Nobody understands really what the majority is trying to do, except to interfere and basically make sure they believe the president can’t win next year if he’s impeached,” he said.
“A focus group impeachment says you know we really aren’t working with good facts, but we need a good PR move. That’s why we’re here today,” he added.
As Breitbart News reported and Collins pointed out in his opening statement, Schiff failed to show up to Monday’s hearing:
Schiff’s 300-page report, released last Tuesday afternoon, is the only “evidence” to be presented in the impeachment inquiry.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) instructed Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) last Thursday to begin drafting articles of impeachment on that basis.
But the man who has driven the impeachment inquiry for several months — primarily behind closed doors, in the Special Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF) in the basement of the U.S. Capitol — did not show up in person.
Ranking member Devin Nunes (R-CA), however, is present.
“Mr. Nunes is here! His staff is here! The leading headline is there: ‘Schiff Report’ — but where’s Mr. Schiff?” Collins remarked.
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