Continue to investigate

Adam Schiff says Intel panel will continue to investigate Trump

By KAMRAN RAHMAN

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said on Sunday his panel will continue investigating President Donald Trump, asserting there's “overwhelming” evidence that he abused the power of the presidency by pressuring Ukraine’s president to investigate a political rival.

“I certainly think that the evidence that's been produced overwhelmingly shows serious misconduct by the president,” the California Democrat said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

“The remarkable thing about this — and we have done this with almost, well, literally, no documentary production from the administration — is the facts are really not contested. It's really not contested what the president did.”

Schiff's Intelligence Committee wrapped up the public phase of its impeachment investigation last week after hearing from a dozen witnesses. Now, it's preparing a report to the House Judiciary Committee, which will decide whether to draft articles of impeachment. That report could come as early as the week of Dec. 2, but Schiff said it could be amended later.

In a separate Sunday interview, Schiff said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" that “even as we compile this report, even as we submit evidence to the Judiciary Committee, we're going to continue with our investigation.”

“We have continued to learn more information every day. And I think that is going to continue," he said on CNN. "So, we may have to file addendums to that report. We may have other depositions and hearings to do.”

The White House has blocked the testimony of several witnesses the Intelligence Committee is interested in, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton.

Even as House Democrats consider more testimony, Schiff made it clear the impeachment inquiry will still move quickly as it progresses into its next phase, saying he is unwilling to “wait months and months as the White House plays rope-a-dope with an attempt to stall.”

“We are not going to let the administration stonewalling us stop us.” he said on NBC.

There’s also a possibility Schiff himself could be called to testify before the Judiciary Committee or Senate. But he was quick to dismiss the idea.

“There's nothing for me to testify about," he said on CNN. "And I think, if the president or his allies in the Senate persist in this, it really means they're not serious about what they're doing.”

Pressed on whether he could shed light on questions over his staff’s interactions with the whistleblower, Schiff replied, “I don't want to comment on it, except to say that, if they go down this road, it shows a fundamental lack of seriousness, a willingness to try to turn this into a circus, like the president would like.”

Still, despite his central role in the investigation, Schiff said he still hasn't decided whether he'd vote to impeach the president.

“I want to discuss this with my constituents and my colleagues before I make a final judgment on it,” he said.