Schiff criticizes lagging Justice probe of Trump

CORRECTION: Schiff offered the remarks Wednesday on “CNN Primetime.” A previous version of this story included incorrect information.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) criticized the Justice Department Wednesday for not moving quick enough into its investigation of former President Trump regarding his attempts at overturning the results of the 2020 election.

“I do share the concern that the Justice Department should have moved on this case — if they are going to move on it — a long time ago,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “CNN Primetime.”

“The Justice Department has moved very slowly,” he added.

Collins asked the California Democrat whether he shared the same concerns as others who have said the New York grand jury investigation of Trump’s involvement in a hush money payment “does not have the same merits” as other cases Trump is facing.

Schiff, who led Trump’s first impeachment trials, said that while the Justice Department moved quickly when it came to investigating the rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the department is at least a year away from investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.

“And for that reason, you have other prosecutions now that are going forward first, but I certainly think that the Justice Department should have pursued this with far more urgency,” he said.

Schiff said that the investigation into Trump keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida is being met with urgency, but he reiterated that the “most serious” charges around Trump’s involvement in Jan. 6 should have been probed by the Justice Department “a long time ago.”

Trump is facing a slew of investigations since leaving office. The Manhattan grand jury could possibly indict Trump in the coming days regarding his alleged involvement in a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair.

Trump is also being investigated by the Justice Department after officials found a plethora of classified documents at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago.