Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Ca), Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, chastised his GOP colleagues in an epic speech that will go down in history as the moment America got a summary of President Donald Trump’s unethical, immoral, corrupt and unpatriotic conduct leading to the 2016 presidential elections.
Below is the full transcript of Schiff’s fiery speech.
IT’S NOT OK
My colleagues might think it’s okay that the Russians offered dirt on the Democratic candidate for president as part of what’s described as the Russian government’s effort to help the Trump campaign. You might think that’s okay.
My colleagues might think it’s okay that, when, that, was offered to the son of the president, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, that the president’s son did not call the FBI; he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help — no, instead that son said that he would ‘love’ the help with the Russians.
You might think it’s okay that he took that meeting. You might think it’s okay that Paul Manafort, the campaign chair, someone with great experience running campaigns, also took that meeting. You might think it’s okay that the president’s son-in-law also took that meeting. You might think it’s okay that they concealed it from the public. You might think it’s okay that their only disappointment after that meeting was that the dirt they received on Hillary Clinton wasn’t better.
You might think that’s okay.
You might think it’s okay that when it was discovered, a year later, that they then lied about that meeting and said that it was about adoptions. You might think that it’s okay that it was reported that the president helped dictate that lie.
You might think that’s okay.
I don’t.
You might think it’s okay that the campaign chairman of a presidential campaign would offer information about that campaign to a Russian oligarch in exchange for money or debt forgiveness. You might think that’s okay, I don’t.
You might think it’s okay that that campaign chairman offered polling data to someone linked to Russian intelligence.
I don’t think that’s okay.
You might think it’s okay that the president himself called on Russia to hack his opponent’s emails, if they were listening. You might think it’s okay that later that day, in fact, the Russians attempted to hack a server affiliated with that campaign.
I don’t think that’s okay.
You might think it’s okay that the president’s son-in-law sought to establish a secret back channel of communication with the Russians through a Russian diplomatic facility.
I don’t think that’s okay.
You might think it’s okay that an associate of the president made direct contact with the GRU through Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks, that is considered a hostile intelligence agency. You might think it’s okay that a senior campaign official was instructed to reach that associate and find out what that hostile intelligence agency had to say in terms of dirt on his opponent.
You might think it’s okay that the national security adviser designate secretly conferred with the Russian ambassador about undermining U.S. sanctions, and you might think it’s okay that he lied about it to the FBI.
You might say that’s all okay, that’s just what you need to do to win. But I don’t think it’s okay. I don’t think it’s okay. I think it’s immoral, I think it’s unethical, I think it’s unpatriotic and, yes, I think it’s corrupt — and evidence of collusion.
WHAT TRIGGERED SCHIFF?
Congressman Mike Conaway, (R-Tx), led the charge calling for Schiff’s resignation charging that the Special Counsel Report has proven Schiff wrong and he has lost credibility to lead the committee.
It is an open secret that Schiff will not resign just because Republicans are calling for his head.