Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is using her ceaseless battle against House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) and his impeachment efforts to her advantage, raising over $500,000 for her congressional campaign in less than two hours, she announced on Friday.
Stefanik has been a predominant GOP figure in recent weeks, particularly due to her significant role on the House Intelligence Committee, which held a series of public impeachment trials over the last two weeks. Stefanik has used her time during the hearings to demonstrate the partisan nature of the inquiry and question Schiff’s methods.
During last week’s hearing, Stefanik blasted Schiff’s newfound devotion to protecting the so-called “whistleblower,” using her time to read excerpts of reports detailing his previous comments in order to demonstrate the “duplicity and just the abuse of power of that we are continuing to see.”
She said:
We want to make sure whistleblowers are able to come forward, but in this case, the fact that we are getting criticized by Chairman Adam Schiff for statements that he himself had made early on in this process shows the duplicity and just the abuse of power of that we are continuing to see.
Her direct, no-nonsense style has earned her praise from the president — who called her a “new Republican star” — and hate from Never Trumpers like George Conway, who called her “lying trash.”
The backlash seems to be invigorating her base, according to her latest announcement. On Thursday, Stefanik asked her Twitter followers to join her in the “fight for truth and transparency at FightSchiff.com,” which takes users to a page to donate to her congressional campaign:
Stefanik said they raised $250,000 in 15 minutes alone and over $500,000 in less than two hours:
Stefanik also spoke to Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Thursday evening and declared that the Democrats’ entire case for impeachment is “crumbling.”
“I’ve just focused on the facts,” she said. “And it is clear as every day goes by that Democrats’ case for impeachment is crumbling. Adam Schiff has been an abject failure.”
“And again, the facts remain the same. There was no quid pro quo. And there was no investigation into the Bidens. In fact, the only investigation into Burisma was under the Obama administration,” she continued.
She added:
But yet, Adam Schiff continues his regime of secrecy. And because I have been such an outspoken advocate for the facts, I have been attacked by the Hollywood left, who have dumped millions into supporting my far-left Democratic opponent, which is why I need the American people to step up; donate at FightSchiff.com to help me speak for the American people and my district.