Democrats cry foul over Schiff backlash
Democrats are pushing back at GOP backlash over a controversial line in House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) closing statement in Friday night’s impeachment trial arguments.
Schiff sparked an audible reaction from Republicans when he referenced a CBS News report that cited an anonymous Trump confidant saying GOP senators’ heads would be “on a pike” if they opposed President Trump on impeachment.
Republicans — including Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) — quickly distanced themselves, with Collins overheard repeatedly saying “that’s not true” and Murkowski saying Schiff “overreached.”
But Senate Democrats are rallying behind Schiff, accusing Republicans of faux outrage or overreacting to a few sentences in an hourlong closing statement for the House managers.
“The most dangerous place in America, maybe in Washington, is to stand by the exit door at the White House because when you fall out of favor with this president, he lops off your head, throws your body in the snow and buries you in vicious tweets,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat, when asked about the GOP reaction to the line.
“So the notion that he may be following this and have some feelings about how people vote is not preposterous,” Durbin added.
Asked about the outrage from Republicans, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who won reelection in 2018 in a red state, said Schiff’s comment wasn’t a mistake and that “in some cases people are just looking for excuses.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) added in a tweet that Republicans were jumping on the line as a distraction to avoid the substance of the allegations against President Trump.
“Let’s be clear – Come hell or high water Republicans were going to find something the House managers said that outraged them,” Murphy said.
“CBS News reported last night that a Trump confidant said that key senators were warned, ‘Vote against the president and your head will be on a pike.’ I don’t know if that’s true,” Schiff said.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) told reporters that “the whole room was visibly upset on our side,” while Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) said Schiff “offended every Republican senator.”
“The Republicans are so afraid to confront the actual facts here that are presented by the house managers that they’re always looking for a diversion. Remember, it was [Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)] and the pens. And the first day it was [House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)] calling the Senate a cover-up or whatever he did. Yesterday they said we’ve heard all of this evidence,” Schumer said during an interview with MSNBC.
“Let me make clear that it’s not going to have an influence one way or another, his saying it is not going to have an influence one way or the other on my decision making,” Collins said Sunday in remarks emailed to The Hill.
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