Schiff: "There was an epidemic of cowardice in the GOP"

The Council of Parliamentary Intelligence's Adam Schiff attacked on Thursday the moral character of the Republicans while continuing to temper Democrats' calls to oust President Donald Trump until such the right thing to do for the country ".

The California Democrat told The Los Angeles City Attorney, Mike Feuer, during a question and answer session that GOP lawmakers had privately addressed to him to "voice their deep concerns and concerns" about the issue. Trump administration and to offer encouragement while the Schiff Committee continued its investigation Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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"But frankly, I'm exhausted by private concerns," said Schiff. "People need to talk."

The legislator said he respected Michigan's Justin Amash representative, who became the first Republican lawmaker to to accuse Trump to commit impenetrable offenses with a series of tweets earlier this month.

Schiff also recalled the late regrets of the late Senator John McCain with the President and hailed the Arizona Republican's pronouncements as acts of courage.

"I think what we knew, implicitly, was that courage was contagious," he said. "But what we did not realize is that cowardice is also contagious. I think there has been an epidemic of cowardice in the GOP. This president does not represent anything that the Republican Party has declared defending. "

However, he refused to make a phone call to oust Trump.

Schiff's comments come the day after special advocate Robert Mueller unleashed a new wave of screaming for the opening of an impeachment proceeding during his first public statements since the conclusion of his counterintelligence investigation of a duration of two years. Mueller on wednesday appeared to submit to Congress the question of whether Trump should be held responsible for obstructing the investigation of Russia – one of the two major issues on which the Special Advocate has long reflected and detailed in his 448-page report.

A number of Democrats on Wednesday in use Mueller's words are a rallying cry to pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) To open an indictment investigation against the president. Pelosi is opposed to such efforts, repeatedly arguing that it was not worth dismissing Trump – and that it could even help him to re-elect in 2020.

Schiff said Thursday that the decision to launch efforts to expel the president should not be taken on the basis of their political consequences. Rather, he argued, Democrats in the House should take action when it is clear that removal is necessary for the country.

"I think the most powerful argument to make is that the Senate does, whether or not it is inevitable to acquit, when the conduct of the president is at such a deleterious level, the Chamber should nevertheless act, "said Schiff. "And damn the consequences."

The legislator, however, warned that the impeachment procedure would be an "absorbing and heartbreaking experience".

"I'm not here yet," said Schiff. "Although the president seems to do everything in his power to bring me there."

He added that a turning point for him would be if Trump was ignoring a court order. House committees have challenged the White House for refusing to testify or hand over documents on several occasions.

Schiff was attacked by the GOP earlier this year, after Mueller's investigation, for claiming "more than circumstantial evidence" of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The special advocate wrote that there was no evidence of a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 elections, although his report details the considerable efforts made by Russian actors to meddle in favor of Trump.

In the midst of Republican calls for his resignation, Schiff argued that the conduct of the president and his associates, "criminal or otherwise," is unacceptable. He continued to advance the inquiry of the House Intelligence Committee after the publication of a redacted version of Mueller's report.

While Schiff said the arguments in favor of impeachment were "growing stronger," he said Thursday that he did not think "people should have the impression that dismissal is a panacea".

Instead, he returned to what he called a deeper problem: the Republicans, whom Schiff accused of having bent their values ​​to adhere to the president's program.

"For me, this is what made our republic tremble: this party will not do its duty," he said.