Freedom Caucus Urges Adam Schiff to Recuse Himself from Impeachment Inquiry

The House Freedom Caucus sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), demanding she make House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) recuse himself from the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) sent a letter on behalf of the conservative caucus, demanding that Pelosi make Schiff recuse himself from the impeachment inquiry due to his interactions with the intelligence officer “whistleblower” and his subsequent denial of said contact.

The Freedom Caucus contended that Schiff’s interactions with the whistleblower could make him a possible “fact witness” in an impeachment inquiry.

“For over two years, Adam Schiff misled the American people with his numerous attempts to manufacture evidence of collusion between Donald Trump and the Russian government,” Chairman Biggs said in a statement Wednesday, adding:

Once that fairytale evaporated, Mr. Schiff quickly moved on to his next hoax: a non-existent quid pro quo between President Trump and the President of Ukraine. This time, just like the Russian hoax, Mr. Schiff has been caught manipulating facts leading to baseless accusations against the President. Mr. Schiff is hardly an unbiased arbiter of this unauthorized impeachment process, and we call for his immediate recusal.

Reports have revealed that the intelligence officer whistleblower communicated with the House Intelligence Committee staff, and that information was relayed to Schiff.

The House Freedom Caucus said that Congress should require Schiff to answer questions about his communications with the whistleblower.

The conservatives wrote to Pelosi:

The public knows little else about Chairman Schiff’s dealings with the whistleblower because Chairman Schiff has failed to disclose the interaction. When asked directly whether the committee had any contact with the whistleblower, Chairman Schiff lied and said no. In light of this, Chairman Schiff must be required to answer questions about his interactions with the whistleblower under oath, as he has proven that he cannot be trusted to be honest otherwise.

In 2017, you and your colleagues, including Chairman Schiff, demanded the recusal of then-Chairman Nunes from the Russia investigation because he allegedly met privately with a source to review sensitive information, without disclosing the meeting or the information to the committee. In keeping with past precedent, principles of fairness demand that you request the recusal of Chairman Schiff under these similar circumstances.

“We urge you to give this matter your immediate attention. The integrity of this institution demands it,” they concluded in their letter.