Adam Schiff
Adam Schiff
| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the House Intelligence Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Devin Nunes |
| Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Dutch Ruppersberger |
| Succeeded by | Devin Nunes |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | James E. Rogan |
| Constituency | 27th district (2001–2003) 29th district (2003–2013) 28th district (2013–present) |
| Member of the California State Senate from the 21st district | |
| In office December 2, 1996 – November 30, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Newton R. Russell |
| Succeeded by | Jack Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Adam Bennett Schiff
June 22, 1960 Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
Eve Sanderson (m. 1995)
|
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website |
Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 28th congressional district since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Schiff's district, numbered as the 27th from 2001 to 2003 and as the 29th from 2003 and 2013, has always been centered in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles, including Pasadena, Glendale and his hometown of Burbank. For his first six terms, he represented a district included the areas of Alhambra, Altadena, San Gabriel, Burbank, Glendale, South Pasadena, Temple City, Monterey Park, and Pasadena. In 2010, his district's boundaries were re-drawn to include, among others, La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta-Montrose as well as large slices of Los Angeles itself including Sunland-Tujunga, Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Los Feliz.
He currently serves as the chairman of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is currently on leave from the House Appropriations Committee which he joined in 2007. He previously served on the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee and the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.
Early life, education, and career
Schiff was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, the son of Edward and Sherrill Ann (Glovsky) Schiff.[1] He was raised in a Jewish family, and moved to Danville, California, during high school.[2] He graduated from Monte Vista High School[3] and received a political science degree from Stanford University and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.
After Harvard Law School, Schiff began working as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office. While an assistant U.S. Attorney, he gained attention by prosecuting a case against Richard Miller, a former FBI agent convicted of "passing secret documents to the Soviet Union in exchange for a promised $65,000 in gold and cash."[4] The first trial resulted in a hung jury; the second trial resulted in a conviction that was overturned on appeal.[5] Miller was convicted in a third trial.[6]
California State Senate
Schiff was elected to the California State Senate in 1996, after two unsuccessful bids for state assembly.[7] He chaired that body's judiciary committee during his one term.
Although Schiff was elected to California's 21st State Senate district, the area the district currently represents has changed through redistricting, and the area Schiff originally represented is now roughly considered the 25th Senate district.[8][9]
During his tenure in the state senate, Schiff authored Senate Bill 1847, Chapter 1021. Signed into law in 1998, this created the Pasadena Blue Line Authority, which continued work on the stalled then-Blue Line light rail extension to Pasadena, which would later be named the Gold Line instead.
U.S. House of Representatives
Schiff was elected to the U.S. House of representatives on November 7, 2000, and began serving his first term on January 3, 2001. Schiff began serving his 10th term in Congress in January 2019.
2003 invasion of Iraq
Schiff voted in favor of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[10] In February 2015, discussing how or whether to tailor Bush-era plans from 2001 and 2002 to fight ISIS, Schiff was asked if he regretted voting to invade. He said, "Absolutely. Unfortunately, our intelligence was dead wrong on that, on Saddam at that time. The vote set in motion a cascading series of events which have [had] disastrous consequences."[11][12]
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Armenian genocide resolution
Schiff has been a leading voice in Armenian-American issues; he claims to have over 70,000 Armenian-Americans in his district.[13][14] He introduced U.S. House Resolution 106, recognizing the Armenian genocide, which was approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on October 11, 2007,[15] but began to lose support after Turkey's prime minister said that approval of the resolution would endanger U.S.-Turkey relations.[16] On March 4, 2010, the resolution was again approved to go forward by the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a 23-22 margin.[17] Immediately, the Turkish government recalled its U.S. ambassador.[17] Schiff said in 2007, "When you think about what we have against us -- the president, a foreign policy establishment that has condoned this campaign of denial, the Turkish lobby -- against that you have the truth, which is a powerful thing but doesn't always win out."[18] He continues to reintroduce the resolution each subsequent Congress.[citation needed]
Helicopter noise
Beginning with Rep. Howard Berman before Berman was defeated for reelection, Schiff has worked on reducing unwanted helicopter noise across Los Angeles County by proposing legislation to force the FAA to study and regulate helicopter noise in Los Angeles, the Helicopter Noise Relief Act.[19] After reintroducing his legislation, Schiff worked with Senator Dianne Feinstein to push the FAA to act, and together they attached a provision in the 2014 omnibus appropriations package directing the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and FAA to address helicopter noise in Los Angeles County skies.[20] As a result, in 2015 the FAA created a county-wide helicopter noise public complaint system, the first step towards regulation.[21][22]
Intelligence and surveillance reform
Schiff has been a prominent supporter of surveillance reforms, especially in the wake of the leaks of classified intelligence by Edward Snowden.[23] In 2007, in response to disclosure of the Terrorist Surveillance Program, Schiff and Rep. Jeff Flake offered a successful amendment in the House of Representatives to clarify that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is the exclusive means for collecting foreign intelligence information within the United States.[24] Schiff has been a critic of the bulk collection of telephone metadata by the National Security Agency. In January 2014, Schiff introduced the Telephone Metadata Reform Act,[25] which would prohibit the bulk collection of domestic phone records. Schiff has also introduced several bills aimed at reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, including a bill to require outside counsel to be appointed to argue for privacy and civil liberties protections in certain cases before the Court.[26]
Investigation of Benghazi attack
Schiff was appointed to the House Select Committee on Benghazi in 2014 by Nancy Pelosi to serve as one of the five Democrats on the Committee.[27] Schiff had participated in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence investigation into the attacks on the Benghazi diplomatic compound, which found that the initial talking points provided by the intelligence community were flawed but without an intention to deceive, and that diplomatic facilities across the world lacked adequate security.[28] The report's findings were unanimous and bipartisan. Before he was appointed as a Member of the Benghazi Select Committee, Schiff called the establishment of a select committee to investigate the 2012 attack a "colossal waste of time," and said Democratic leaders should not appoint any members, stating: "I think it's just a tremendous red herring and a waste of taxpayer resources."[29] Despite those reservations, he still accepted an appointment to the Committee because if he felt he "could add value, [he] would serve."[30]
Press freedom
Schiff formed the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Caucus for the Freedom of the Press in 2006[31] aimed at advancing press freedom around the world. The Caucus proposed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act and it was originally introduced to Congress by Schiff and Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.) and by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) on October 1, 2009, in response to the murder of Daniel Pearl by terrorists in Pakistan.[32][33] The legislation requires the United States Department of State to expand its scrutiny of news media intimidation and freedom of the press restrictions during its annual report on human rights in each country.[34] After its introduction, the act passed through the House of Representatives with a vote of 403 to 12 and passed unanimously in the Senate; however, a provision requiring the Secretary of State (in coordination with the Department of State's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and in consultation with the Undersecretary for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy) to establish a grant program aiming to promote freedom of the press worldwide was removed in the Senate.[33][35] On May 17, 2010, President Barack Obama, accompanied by the Pearl family, signed into law the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act.[36]
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
In 2015, Schiff supported the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, saying: "The military action by Saudi Arabia and its partners was necessitated by the illegal action of the Houthi rebels and their Iranian backers. ... But ultimately, a negotiated end to this crisis is the only way to restore order in Yemen and shrink the space for terrorism."[37]
War authorization reform and authorization against ISIS
After the President's speech at the National Defense University examining the U.S. war powers during the War on Terror, Schiff introduced bipartisan legislation to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, the legislation passed in the days after the September 11 attacks to combat Al Qaeda, because he felt that "the current AUMF is outdated and straining at the edges to justify the use of force outside the war theater."[38] The bill, introduced with Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL), was intended to sunset. In addition to his legislation, Schiff has been a forceful proponent of debating and voting on a new war authorization against ISIS.[39]
Schiff has been a very prominent supporter of national defense spending. Schiff has voted for every increase in the defense budget over the course of his career.[40]
Comments on Trump-Russia collusion investigation
On March 22, 2017, in a interview with Chuck Todd on MSNBC Schiff claimed there was “more than circumstantial evidence now” that Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russia. Todd followed up by asking if he had seen direct evidence of collusion and Schiff responded that there was "evidence that is not circumstantial and is very much worthy of investigation."[41]
On April 2, 2017, Schiff, the ranking member on the House Select Intelligence Committee, which is tasked with conducting inquiries related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, appeared on CNN's State of the Union. In the wide-ranging interview, Schiff and host Jake Tapper discussed Michael Flynn's request for immunity, Schiff's and Devin Nunes's separate inspections of White House documents, Trump's allegations of wiretapping in Trump Tower, and Nunes's apparent close association with the Trump White House.[42] Tapper asked Schiff if there was evidence of Donald Trump–Russia collusion. Schiff replied: "I don't think we can say anything definitively at this point. We are still at the very early stage of the investigation. The only thing I can say is that it would be irresponsible for us not to get to the bottom of this."[43] Tapper asked, "Do you think that Chairman Nunes was part of an attempt to provide some sort of cover for the president's claim about Obama wiretapping him at Trump Tower, which, obviously, this does not prove, but to cover for that, or an attempt to distract, as you're suggesting?" Schiff replied, "It certainly is an attempt to distract and to hide the origin of the materials, to hide the White House hand. The question is, of course, why? And I think the answer to the question is this effort to point the Congress in other directions, basically say, don't look at me, don't look at Russia, there is nothing to see here."[44] A few days later, Nunes recused himself as leader of the investigative panel while the House Committee on Ethics investigated whether he had disclosed classified information.[45][46]
On July 23, 2017, on "Meet the Press", Schiff stated, "[A]t the end of the day we need to make sure that our president is operating not in his personal best interests and not because he's worried about what the Russians might have but because what he is doing is in America's best interest. The fact that we have questions about this is in itself harmful."[47] The following morning on Twitter, Trump referred to Schiff as "Sleazy Adam Schiff, the totally biased Congressman looking into 'Russia'" and called the Russian collusion investigation "the Dem loss excuse".[48] Schiff responded on Twitter that the president's "comments and actions are beneath the dignity of the office."[49]
In December 2018 Schiff suggested that Trump associate Roger Stone may have lied to Congress, and said the transcript of his testimony should be forwarded to the Special Counsel.[50] Stone hit back, saying Schiff was "a con man" and "full of Schiff".[51]
When he became Chair of the House Intelligence Committee in 2019, Schiff took a personal mission to investigate Trump's connections to Russia, separate from the investigation by the Special Counsel.[52] Schiff came under fire when he demurred when asked if he would accept it if the Special Counsel's investigation concluded that Donald Trump did not collude with Russia, saying that he has great confidence in Mueller but that "there may be, for example, evidence of collusion or conspiracy that is clear and convincing, but not proof beyond a reasonable doubt," as is needed for a criminal conviction.[53]
On March 28, 2019, the nine Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee officially called for Schiff to resign due to his allegations that President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russians in the 2016 election.[54] Schiff responded by accusing the Republican members of tolerating "immoral" and "corrupt" conduct by Trump campaign members and administration appointees.[55][56]
North Korea
Schiff called North Korea "one of the most brutal and despotic regimes in the world." After the death of American student Otto Warmbier who had been imprisoned during a visit to North Korea, Schiff said: "The barbaric treatment of Otto Warmbier by the North Korean regime amounts to the murder of a U.S. citizen."[57]
In April 2018, asked whether he thought Trump deserved at least partial credit for North Korea's involvement in talks with the US, Schiff responded: "I think it's more than fair to say that the combination of the president's unpredictability and indeed, his bellicosity had something to do with the North Koreans deciding to come to the negotiating table."[58]
Israel and anti-Semitism
Schiff is a supporter of Israel.[59] In December 2016, Schiff urged President Obama to veto UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories as a violation of international law.[60]
In February 2019, Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted, "It's all about the Benjamins baby" in reference to American politicians' support for Israel and invoked the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Many Democratic leaders—including Schiff—condemned the tweet, which was interpreted as implying that money was fueling American politicians' support of Israel. Schiff said it was "never acceptable to give voice to, or repeat, anti-Semitic smears."[61]
Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
After news reports that the CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump said there was insufficient CIA evidence to link bin Salman to the murder.[62] Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, was briefed by the CIA on the agency assessment, and stated afterwards that Trump was being dishonest about the CIA findings.[63]
Committee and caucuses
Committee assignments
Caucuses
- Co-chair of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus
- Co-founded the Democratic Study Group on National Security
- Co-founded the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press
- Vice Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus[64]
Caucus memberships
- New Democrat Coalition[65]
- House Baltic Caucus[66]
- Congressional Arts Caucus[67]
- Afterschool Caucuses[68]
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus[69]
Congressional campaigns
In 2000, Schiff challenged Republican incumbent Jim Rogan in what was then the 27th District. The district had once been a Republican stronghold, but had been trending Democratic since the early 1990s. In what was the most expensive House race ever at the time[70] (several elections in 2006[71] and 2008[72] later eclipsed it), Schiff unseated Rogan, taking 53 percent of the vote to Rogan's 44 percent. He became only the second Democrat to represent this district since its creation in 1913.
After the 2000 census, the district was renumbered as the 29th and made significantly more Democratic. As a result, Schiff has never faced another contest nearly as close as his 2000 bid, and has been reelected eight times. His district became even more Democratic after the 2010 census, when it was renumbered as the 28th and pushed into Los Angeles itself. Even before then, none of his Republican challengers had cleared 35 percent of the vote.
In 2010, Schiff defeated Tea Party–backed Republican John Colbert for a sixth term.[73] In 2012, he defeated Republican Phil Jennerjahn.[74] In 2014, he defeated independent candidate Steve Stokes.[75] In 2016, he defeated Republican candidate Lenore Solis.
In 2018, he competed in the primary with Democratic challenger Kim Gruenenfelder. After Gruenenfelder dropped out of the race, he became the Democratic candidate and defeated Republican candidate Johnny Nalbandian.
Personal life
Schiff and his wife Eve have two children, Alexa and Elijah.[76]
Schiff has participated in multiple endurance challenges, including triathlons and marathons. Schiff was the only Congressman to participate in the inaugural Washington, D.C. triathlon in 2010[77] and has since participated in other races in Philadelphia, New York City, and Malibu.[78] In 2014, Schiff was the first member of Congress to participate in the AIDS/LifeCycle, a seven-day charity bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise awareness and funding to fight HIV and AIDS.[79] Schiff is vegan.[80] The New Yorker reported in 2018 that "Schiff has been writing screenplays on the side for years", including a murder mystery, a post-Holocaust story, and a spy drama.[81]
*******
The White House • October 2, 2019
BREAKING: ‘Whistleblower’ colluded with House Democrats
before making complaint
As President Donald J. Trump joined Finland President Sauli
Niinistö for a joint press conference this afternoon, he was handed a breaking
news article published by The New York Times. The story is damning for House
Democrats: Impeachment czar and Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff
(D-CA) knew about the “whistleblower’s” complaint against President Trump
before he or she made it.
President Trump:
Schiff’s account to Congress was a total fabrication.
“The federal intelligence community whistleblower law
explicitly states intelligence community whistleblowers must formally go
through the ICIG [Inspector General of the Intelligence Community] *before*
contacting Congress,” Federalist cofounder Sean Davis writes on Twitter.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) adds that Rep. Schiff “withheld this
info from the American people” and even from the House Intelligence Committee.
“In light of this news, it’s hard to view impeachment as anything aside from an
orchestrated farce.”
Legitimate whistleblowers do this country an important
service, President Trump says. But when these laws are exploited for raw
partisan politics, it makes a mockery of the entire process. The damage being
done to public trust in government is enormous.
“Trump's transparency is driving the left nuts,” says former
Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
President Trump’s advice: Read the transcript!
Last week, House Democrats chose to open an impeachment
inquiry into Trump before they even investigated the alleged “quid pro quo” and
“cover-up” in his phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That
decision will haunt Democrats for months if not years to come.
The very next day, President Trump foiled their gambit by
releasing the full, unredacted transcript of his telephone conversation. You
can read it here.
The President wants all Americans to read the transcript for
themselves. Congressional Democrats do not. That alone reveals their stunning
error in judgment. The far left may not care what the truth is, but most
American citizens expect Congress to do its homework before trying to remove a
duly elected President from office. It didn’t.
It explains why Rep. Adam Schiff read a fake, “parody”
transcript of the call before the House Intelligence Committee last week. It
explains why Democrats have quickly moved on to demanding other transcripts and
documents, hoping to distract from the fact that the entire basis of their
impeachment inquiry was proven to be false in a matter of hours.
The problem is that, once again, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has
overpromised and underdelivered. Democrats do not have the votes to remove
President Trump from office. Even if they did, a majority of Americans oppose
impeachment. Democrat leaders know this. But since they’ve used investigations
as an excuse to obstruct bipartisan legislation for nearly 3 years, they
eventually had to deliver something for their far-left base.
It won’t work, but the good news is that something positive
will come from the Democrats’ astonishing political incompetence. Democrats are
right that Americans deserve to know the truth about corruption on the part of
elected officials. With the media spotlight now on the Ukraine investigation,
they’re finally going to get it.
Senate Democrats pressured Ukraine last year to cooperate on
the Mueller investigation into President Trump. This year, President Trump has
asked Ukraine to fully cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation
into the actions of former Vice President Joe Biden and his family in Ukraine.
Transparency and accountability apply to everyone.
Congressional Democrats got their 2-year investigation into President Trump,
which turned up nothing. Now, aided by their own impeachment stunt, Democrat
leaders are coming under the same scrutiny.
That’s a good thing. After all, Speaker Pelosi put it best:
If there’s nothing to hide, then they have nothing to worry about.
***
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Sign the Judicial Watch petition now if you think Adam Schiff needs to immediately step down as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee!
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