House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) won’t release transcripts from key witnesses in the Russia investigation even though his committee voted unanimously in 2018 to release them.
The Washington Examiner (my former employer) reported exclusively on Friday that Schiff is in possession of declassified transcripts but has yet to release them. The outlet reported that the declassification process, performed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, was supposed to take a few weeks or months. That was almost two years ago, however, and the transcripts have not been released. Many blame Schiff.
“Adam Schiff is thwarting the will of the House Intelligence Committee as expressed in the bipartisan vote in September 2018 to make these transcripts public,” one senior intelligence official told the Examiner. “He has appointed himself arbiter of what the public should see and has refused to allow the White House to review its own equities, making declassification of 10 of the transcripts impossible. It’s difficult to imagine any motive other than Schiff is still trying to control the narrative on Russia collusion.”
As the Examiner’s Jerry Dunleavy reported, 43 out of 53 transcripts have been declassified and returned to Schiff more than six months ago, but the Intel chairman has not made them public. Last fall, he promised to do just that. – READ MORE
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