Schiff urges GOP colleagues to share private concerns about Trump publicly

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) urged his GOP colleagues to state their private concerns about President Trump publicly in a Washington Post op-ed Thursday. 

“To my Republican colleagues: When the president attacked the independence of the Justice Department by intervening in a case in which he is implicated, you did not speak out,” Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, wrote. “When he attacked the press as the enemy of the people, you again were silent. When he targeted the judiciary, labeling judges and decisions he didn’t like as illegitimate, we heard not a word. And now he comes for Congress, the first branch of government, seeking to strip it of its greatest power, that of the purse.” 

{mosads}”Many of you have acknowledged your deep misgivings about the president in quiet conversations over the past two years. You have bemoaned his lack of decency, character and integrity. You have deplored his fundamental inability to tell the truth. But for reasons that are all too easy to comprehend, you have chosen to keep your misgivings and your rising alarm private.”

“That must end. The time for silent disagreement is over. You must speak out.”

Schiff has been one of Trump’s most vocal critics in Congress.

The California lawmaker opened a sweeping committee probe into Trump’s ties to Russia and his personal finances earlier this month.

Trump immediately fired back, calling Schiff a “political hack.” Schiff responded that he could understand why Trump was scared of congressional oversight.