Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) has consistently and reliably challenged Trump and his administration on all their obfuscations and white washings. Last night Congressman Schiff was a guest on Bill Maher’s “Real Time.” The following is a transcript of that appearance. I was going to quote excerpts from the show but upon a second reading Schiff is so good that I’m submitting the piece in its entirety.
Maher: Fox News says "There's no there there?" What about that?
Schiff: If there was no there there James Comey would still have a job. As important as the collusion issue is there's a lot at stake beyond that. The Russians intervened not just because they wanted to help Donald Trump and not just because they hated Hillary Clinton they intervened because they wanted to tear down our democracy. Just as they wanted to tear down the democracy in France with Marine LePen, there's a real struggle of ideas around the world of authoritarianism v. democracy. Putin is leading the autocratic vanguard and you have a POTUS who loves authoritarian figures. Probably the most distressing headline I have seen, was when Angela Merkel came to visit the headline was, “Leader Of The Free World Meets Donald Trump.”
Maher: Right.
Schiff: This was so painful.
Maher: it is painful.
Schiff: it's not only disastrous for the United States internally because he has provoked and continued these terrible divisions in our country but he is dimming the beacon of hope for the rest of the world....I think that's part of what 's at stake, we need to get to the bottom of this, what the russians did here what the russians are doing in europe and how we fight back.
Maher: He almost said word for word that he fired Comey because the Russian thing in his opinion isn't real. That seems like obstruction of justice. He also was asked, "Did you ask Comey for his loyalty?” He said, “No, I didn’t but that’s a great idea.” Which also is illegal, correct?
Schiff: It is staggering. Whether its illegal also depends on whether or not you think he's telling the truth. Ironically the most incriminating things are if you believe him. Of course when it comes to Russia you really can't believe what this president is saying. Here he is compounding that by saying, Director Comey you better look out because I may have tapes. So is it worse if he's telling the truth and he's guilty of what he accused his predecessor of, wiretapping people in the White House, or is it worse that the POTUS will just willy nilly tell the people of the U.S. things that are just patently untrue?
Maher: If Hillary was president now, if she was saying the same thing, I do feel that they would have drawn up impeachment charges already. I worry that the Democrats are still too nice and I’ve asked Democrats about this before sometimes their answer is we don't want to stoop to their level to which I say yeah, stoop a little. Stooping in the defence of liberty is no vice. you guys, really, it's a bar fight.
Schiff: I think you're right, Democrats are too nice, I'm too nice. I'll give you an example of where we were too nice and this is while the Russian hacking operation was going on we knew it was going on, in 2016, the president didn't come out early and forceful in condemnation of what the Russians were doing, in fact Senator Feinstein and I had to come out before our own government was willing, before the administration was willing to attribute the hack to Russia, here you have a situation where Donald Trump candidate Trump was saying in July of last year, was saying openly never mind, he's saying openly, hey Russia if you're listening hack Hillary Clinton’s emails you'll be richly rewarded. Where Democrats fell down on the job , in two ways, one the administration should have gotten out there and condemned Russia and called for sanctions then and but they were too worried about being perceived as putting their hand on the scale and where all of us in the Democratic party fell down on the job is we failed to persuade the American people who largely knew what the Russians were doing why they should care.
Maher:This is treason. This is colluding with the enemy. Trump was inviting them to hack. If the shoe was on the other foot they would use that. Obama didn't want to say anything he didn't want it to look bad.
Schiff: When he did say something he was marvelling at just what you said, how is it that the party of Ronald Reagan could condone a foreign adversarial party, let alone Russia, to intervene in our democratic affairs. answer was we have gotten to a place where partisanship is such where for the party of Reagan it's okay for Russians to intervene as long as its to help us. The reasons why the Russians were successful is because we were so bitterly divided and one of the reasons this president is so destructive is he keeps feeding those divisions. He also keeps playing into the Russian narrative that is behind the dismantling of democracy and that is ok in Russia we're not a democracy we're a thugocracy we're a kleptopcracy we don't make any bones about it any more but you know something America is too they're just a bunch of hypocrites and we have a POTUS who goes on, may he rest in television peace, the Bill O'Reilly program and he's asked, why can't you criticize Putin the man's a killer and his answer is, are we so different?
Maher: Lot of killers.
Schiff: You couldn't write that in the Kremlin.
Mayer: How about having the Russians into the Oval Office? Kislyek is their spy master in this country.
Schiff: In the category of You Can't Make This Up, which is the category we live in now, you have photographs of Kislyek with the president not because our own press is allowed in but because the Russians take the pictures.
Maher: Why can't the Democrats make this sale? You're either with us or you're with the Russians?
Schiff: If there was ever a time in this history where the argument there has to be a check on this executive we need to change the House or Senate or both because this president needs a restraint that argument is now.
Maher: What are the republicans saying to each other behind closed doors? they must be shitting their pants, come on.
Schiff: Well, they all want something from this president before the wheels come completely off the wagon. they want their tax cuts they want their regulatory repeal of the mining regulations, etc. and then they'll find their spine. There are a few people who are speaking out and I think that frankly this is John McCain's finest hour. Probably his most important public service since Viet Nam. is what he is doing now and I wish we had more Republicans in the House or maybe even one in the House who was willing to follow his example.
Maher: I know that you said back in March that the case with the Russia collusion is more than circumstantial -- can you tell us, when you picture Donald Trump in say two years what is he wearing?
Schiff: I don't know where the investigation will end up it's too early to say it's a mammoth undertaking. because its global in reach involving a lot of witnesses who may or may not want to cooperate with us. We're working with a very small staff one of the reasons why its so important that we oversee the FBI investigation and not let that go or be impeded in any way, they have the scope they have the scope they have the resources they have thousands of agents all across the globe there are things they they can do and must do that we can't so part of our responsibility is doing our own investigation part of our obligation is making sure that the FBI does the job they need to do.
Maher: there's nothing riding on this except fir the first a to the con, freedom of the press, and maybe the fate of the country.
I have never thought of Bill Maher as a sage, but in this instance saying, “There’s nothing riding on this except the First Amendment to the Constitution, Freedom of the Press, and maybe the fate of the country,” is a profound encapsulation of the issues, in my view.
I’m glad Adam Schiff is on board to fight the good fight. I live in California’s 28th Congressional District and I voted for Adam Schiff and certainly intend to continue to do so. He’s a strong and intelligent leader and he’s extremely articulate. He’s exactly what we need at a time like this when our country’s value system is in the red zone and the engine of state, helmed by Trump, is rocking and ready to throw a rod.