Schiff: Republican Lawmakers Who Push the Lie Trump Won Are ‘Insurrectionists in Suits and Ties’

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Republican lawmakers that back former President Donald Trump’s claims he won the 2020 presidential election are “insurrectionists in suits and ties.”

Co-host George Stephanopoulos said, “Let’s fast forward to January 6. You start out the book in pretty dramatic fashion, having to put on a gas mask you thought you would never have to use as a member of Congress.”

Schiff said, “I remember when the police officer said grab your masks, thinking masks? Are there masks here? He told us they were under the seats. I have been in Congress for 20 years, I didn’t know they were gas hoods under the seats, but the whole thing was just surreal. Once you took out those masks, a fan started, this buzzing all over the chamber. People were becoming increasingly panicked and shouting.”

He continued, “I remember first running into one of the Republicans and saying, ‘How long have you been here?’ Because I didn’t recognize him. He said 72 hours, and I said ’72 hours?’ ‘Yes, I just got elected.’ All I could say was, ‘It’s not always like this.’ I couldn’t imagine being a new member and facing this, but I couldn’t imagine any of us facing this. I couldn’t imagine people climbing outside the building. We started hearing the windows shattering. The police were shouting at us to get out, and some of the Republicans were telling me, ‘you can’t let them see you.’ I remember one saying—”

Stephanopoulos asked, “Because you were so high profile?”

Schiff said, “Yeah. My first inclination was to be oddly touched that we were worried about my safety and my next inclination was to be angry. If they weren’t pushing out these lies about me certainly but also about the election, none of us would have to be worried about our security. Frankly, in the days, after when the trauma for a lot of us became even greater, I was most angry with these insurrectionists in suits and ties. These colleagues of mine who knew it was a lie. Because a lot of people attacking the Capitol believed the lie, I get this asked all the time, do the Republicans believe what they’re saying? They know it’s a lie. They know the election wasn’t rigged, it wasn’t stolen, they just don’t have the guts to speak the truth, and to me, that’s unforgivable.”

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