WATCH: Rep. Schiff Tears Apart Trump Immunity Claims on Wolf Blitzer
Washington, D.C.— Today, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to discuss the Supreme Court taking up Donald Trump’s case claiming Presidential immunity in his criminal trials.
Watch the full video of Schiff’s remarks HERE.
Key Excerpts:
On the Absurdity of Trump’s Legal Team’s Argument
I don't think they expect to win either. That's such an absurd argument. The extension of that argument is you could murder the Senate majority leader, prevent an impeachment trial going forward, and therefore protect a president or former president from any kind of criminal liability.
That's absurd. I think they know they're going to lose this case.
On Trump’s Team Seeking to Delay Justice Until After the November Election
But as we have seen from Trump lawyers, in case after case after case long preceding his presidency, during his presidency, now after his presidency, the goal is to deny justice by delaying justice. And they may just succeed if the oral arguments are in April and a decision doesn't come out until May or June.
And Judge Chutkan at the district court says they're going to have three months after that to prepare. Then you're right in the fall up against the election. That bumps up against the Department of Justice policy, of not normally taking legal action in close proximity to an election. I think the issue here is the proximity to the election is because of the defendant's own conduct, his effort to delay the proceedings. In that case, I would hope that the trial goes forward whenever it gets sent back to Judge Chutkan…
Once again, Donald Trump is trying to run out the clock. We have to hope and pray that voters reject him when they have a chance to vote this November so that if the Justice Department and justice has not been served, that it will be served after the election.
On the Justice Department’s Delay in Taking Up the Trump Insurrection Case
BLITZER: Do you have any issue, Congressman, with the amount of time it actually took for the U.S. Justice Department to bring this case against Trump?
SCHIFF: I do, absolutely. And indeed, during the first year, year and a half, I raised this issue continually that the Justice Department seemed to be only proceeding against those that broke into this building where I'm standing and battered down those doors in front of me to the House chamber or tried to. They went after the foot soldiers, but it was a very long time before they went after those who had essentially organized and incited this attack on the Capitol.
That was a very costly mistake and probably but for the work that we did on the January 6th Committee in forcing the department to confront that evidence of Trump's complicity, he might not have been charged at all.
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