Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Intel Committee Chairman who beclowned himself repeatedly in the Trump/Russia conspiracy mongering, had knowledge of the whistle-blower’s concerns about Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian president before an official complaint was filed.
From the NYT:
The Democratic head of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, learned about the outlines of a C.I.A. officer’s concerns that President Trump had abused his power days before the officer filed a whistle-blower complaint, according to a spokesman and current and former American officials.
The early account by the future whistle-blower shows how determined he was to make known his allegations that Mr. Trump asked Ukraine’s government to interfere on his behalf in the 2020 election. It also explains how Mr. Schiff knew to press for the complaint when the Trump administration initially blocked lawmakers from seeing it.
The C.I.A. officer approached a House Intelligence Committee aide with his concerns about Mr. Trump only after he had had a colleague first convey them to the C.I.A.’s top lawyer. Concerned about how that initial avenue for airing his allegations through the C.I.A. was unfolding, the officer then approached the House aide. In both cases, the original accusation was vague.
The House staff member, following the committee’s procedures, suggested the officer find a lawyer to advise him and meet with an inspector general, with whom he could file a whistle-blower complaint. The aide shared some of what the officer conveyed to Mr. Schiff. The aide did not share the whistle-blower’s identity with Mr. Schiff, an official said.
Schiff denies he met with the so-called “whistle-blower” before a complaint was filed. The NYT report seems to back-up Schiff’s claim. Having knowledge of an incident and meeting with the individual bringing a complaint are different. I’m sure we’ll learn more in the coming days.
That said, advance knowledge gave Schiff a leg up in planning the dog and pony impeachment show that has become our national shame du jour.
The White House responded:
We’ll see if this holds up:
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