WATCH: Rep. Schiff Tears Apart House GOP's Sham Contempt Hearing
Washington, D.C.— Today, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) tore apart Republicans’ efforts to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. He pointed out their betrayal of moral authority – intentionally undermining the justice system and working to serve as an extension of Donald Trump’s campaign.
Watch the full video of Schiff’s remarks HERE.
Key Excerpts:
On Speaker Johnson, House GOP Vouching for the Moral Character of Someone who Possesses None
Now, I would imagine if you asked a younger Mike Johnson some 10 or 15 years ago, “could you ever imagine you would stand outside of a courthouse in a hush money payment to a porn star trial and vouch for the moral character of the defendant?” He would never imagine that possible.
But like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot, what we have seen not just with the Speaker, but with so many of the Republican leadership over the last several years, is one surrender of moral authority after another surrender after another surrender. One betrayal of what one once stood for, followed by another betrayal, followed by another. Until you find yourself standing outside of a Manhattan courthouse, vouching for the moral authority and character of someone who possesses none. And not just not just losing yourself and losing any sense of right and wrong in the process, but here denigrating the very institution of justice, making the false claims that, patently false claims, that this trial in Manhattan was somehow about keeping Donald Trump off the campaign trail, something the speaker knows is patently false, but willing to repeat.
On Judiciary Republicans Serving as a Campaign Advertising Firm for Donald Trump
We can't make a case for any impeachment. There is no high crime. There is no misdemeanor even. And so we will do the next best thing. And we will use this to political advantage by subpoenaing tapes of an interview. We already have the transcript for. And why? Because the Republicans in this committee have moved from being the criminal defense firm for the president to being essentially an adjunct of the president's media advertising firm.
They want the video for Donald Trump's campaign commercials. That's where this committee has become. The Committee on the Judiciary, the committee that is centered or supposed to be centered on the rule of law and on justice. And what are we doing? We're holding the attorney general of the United States in contempt. And for what? Because he won't give video material for a campaign commercial to this committee.
On behalf of a president who is a criminal defendant in a hush money payment to a porn star case in New York. The first of many criminal trials that he will face. This is where we are. This is where we are.
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