Well, Rand Paul failed in his bid to ask a question about the whistleblower, but fourteen fellow senators asked a subsequent question that got under Adam Schiff’s skin and got him to insult the Senate — again.
Here was Paul’s original question: “Are you aware that House intelligence committee staffer Shawn Misko had a close relationship with Eric Ciaramella while at the National Security Council together, and are you aware and how do you respond to reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal house impeachment proceedings.”
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin adapted the question and got the chief justice to ask it.
Referring to a Jan. 22 media report by Paul Sperry that claimed the whistleblower was overheard in 2017 talking with Sean Misko about how to “take out” President Trump, the senators asked how Misko wound up being hired by Schiff’s Committee the day after Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s President. They also noted that Misko, the whistleblower and Alex Vindman has a close relationship. The whistleblower wasn’t named, but everyone knows it is Ciaramella.
When Schiff rose to answer, you could practically see the veins popping out of his forehead.
“I’m appalled at some of the smearing of the professional people that work for the Intelligence Committee. … I will not dignify those smears on my staff by giving them any credence whatsoever.”
In other words, a non-denial denial. Or as they said back in Nixon’s day, it’s a “limited modified hang out.”
But Schiff really let Ron Johnson’s question get under his skin. Instead of playing it cool, he insulted the senators, and by extension, the institution of the Senate.
“I want to be very clear about something. Members of this body used to care about the protection of whistleblower identities. They didn’t used to gratuitously attack members of committee staff, but now they do. Now they do. Now they’ll take an unsubstantiated press article and use it to smear my staff. I think that’s disgraceful.”
Yep. Maybe Shifty Schiff forgot that those senators are the jury who he is asking to remove the president from office!
As Trump attorney Jay Sekulow noted, the whistleblower is protected against retribution or retaliation, but is not guaranteed anonymity.
Also, “Mr. Schiff put the whistleblower issue front and center with his own words during the course of their investigation. He talked about the whistleblower testifying,” and thus raised the expectation that the president could confront his accuser. One more lie from Adam Schiff.
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I love schiff’s ability to lie and obfuscate with an offended voice: “I’m appalled at some of the smearing of the professional people that work for the Intelligence Committee. … I will not dignify those smears on my staff by giving them any credence whatsoever.”. Okaaaay. Mr. Trump has been smeared every day of his presidency by Schiff and anonymous sources, and by the very people who oppose him because he doesn’t meet their standards for the “dignity of the office,” Ms. “I have love in my heart” Pelosi.
For Schiff to say the Senate “didn’t used to gratuitously attack members of committee staff, but now…now they’ll take an unsubstantiated press article and use it to smear my staff. I think that’s disgraceful.”. I think Schiff Pelosi, Maxine, Nadler are all disgraceful because they have been reaching for and grabbing onto any bit of unsubstantiated info about President Trump. This group has the seal of approval of their Democrat media and have gotten away with lies and hypocrisy. How has this been able to continue? Cover-up they now cry. Foul!! No fair!! And their Democrat media writers put their faces in front of the cameras. Many, many cameras. A non impeachment trial consists of a jury where jurists are interviewed to detect bias. And when they express bias, they are excused. We know for sure that there are four senators right out of the gate who are bias. So cover-up is their new song, and the facts will be overlooked. The fairness the house managers have DEMANDED should be in a case file. They demand the EXACT same privileges they denied the Republicans, yet they have had. Adam Schiff got to be the grand wizard during the House UnAmerican Activity they ran, and gavelled people to silence. He is now the great orator. Socrates, Aristotle, Milton Berle. He puts them to shame. Bearing false witness against thy neighbor is a big commandment to disobey. God’s wrath? Karma? Harry Reid and his treadmill?
Joe Morrisco