House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) is likening his closed-door impeachment inquiry of President Trump to a “grand jury” despite it not being a criminal trial.
Schiff was asked when he would hold public hearings on CBS News’s Face the Nation on Sunday. He indicated he wanted to prevent Republicans from defending the president and compared the inquiry to a “grand jury”:
The Republicans would like nothing better because they view their role as defending the president, being the president’s lawyers. If witnesses could tailor their testimony to other witnesses. They would love for one witness to be able to hear what another witness says so that they can know what they can give away and what they can’t give away.
There’s a reason why investigations and grand jury proceedings for example, and I think this is analogous to a grand jury proceeding, are done out of the public view initially. Now we may very well call some of the same witnesses or all the same witnesses in public hearings as well. But we want to make sure that we meet the needs of the investigation and not give the president or his legal minions the opportunity to tailor their testimony and in some cases fabricate testimony to suit their interests.
Schiff’s comments prompted a scathing Wall Street Journal editorial on Monday. – READ MORE