Schiff says he wants to speak with constituents before deciding on impeachment

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said on Sunday that the facts in the impeachment inquiry are “not contested” but that he has not yet personally decided where he stands in terms of supporting the impeachment of President Trump. 

Schiff, who has led the probe, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the “facts” are “not contested.” He said there is overwhelming evidence based on testimony from various fact witnesses that backs allegations that Trump solicited foreign interference in the 2020 election. 

But Schiff would not go as far as to say he supports impeachment. 

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

CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Schiff how he has not yet come to a conclusion if he believes there are overwhelming facts that back his position.

“I certainly think that the evidence has been produced overwhelmingly shows serious misconduct from the president,” Schiff said. “I certainly want to hear more from my constituents and more from my colleagues.”

“At the end of the day, this is a decision about whether the Founding Fathers had in mind this kind of misconduct when they gave Congress this remedy. And I have to think that this is very much central to what they were concerned about, that is an unethical man or woman takes that office, uses it for their personal political gain,” Schiff said. 

“If that wasn’t what the founders had in mind, it’s hard to imagine what they did,” he added.