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Huh? Schiff claims not to know identity of whistleblower

Even though complaint filed after official discussed concerns with congressman's staff

WND Staff By WND Staff
Published November 13, 2019 at 3:54pm
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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. (Video screenshot)

Even the left-leaning FactCheck.org says Rep. Adam Schiff lied when he "implied" the House Intelligence Committee had had no contact with the anti-Trump, career CIA whistleblower whose complaint triggered the current impeachment inquiry.

Schiff claimed, "We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower."

But the whistleblower had reached out to a committee aide and might even have received guidance from Democrats before filing his complaint against the president.

Now, Schiff has claimed he doesn't know the identity of the whistleblower, reported to be Eric Ciaramella, a career CIA employee who was assigned to the Obama White House and worked on Ukraine issues before he was returned to the CIA during the Trump administration.

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Schiff made the denial Wednesday during the first public impeachment-inquiry hearing after Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pointed out that Schiff is the only member of Congress who knows the whistleblower's identity.

Jordan asked when the rest of Congress will be afforded that right.

"Do you anticipate when we might vote on the ability to have the whistleblower in front of us. ... [Out of] the 435 members of Congress, you are the only member who knows who that individual is," Jordan said. "And your staff is the only staff of any member of Congress who's had a chance to talk with that individual. We would like that opportunity. When might that happen in this proceeding today?"

Schiff claimed Jordan's statement is "false."

"I do not know the identity of the whistleblower, and I'm determined to make sure that identity is protected," he said.

Fox News reported Republicans in the room "laughed and sneered" when Schiff made the statement.

His claim seems to clash with past statements he made about his staff having contact with the whistleblower and his admission that he should have been more transparent about the private encounter.

Schiff told CBS News he "should have been much more clear" in discussing contact with the whistleblower.

Further, the whistleblower failed to reveal that he had talked with Schiff's staff when he met with the Intelligence Community inspector general, the report said.

Democrats already have admitted they had "advance warning" about the claims of the whistleblower because he had reached out to them before making the complaint, the report said.

Schiff has insisted on anonymity for the whistleblower, even though that means that Congress is investigating claims made by someone that the president, or his lawyers, have no opportunity to question.

The Blaze asked, "If Schiff doesn't know who the whistleblower is, how will he enforce his hearing rule that the whistleblower not be named?"

President Trump this week accused Schiff of doctoring transcripts he is releasing from closed-door impeachment hearings.

There is no evidence so far that the released transcripts have been doctored. But the president apparently tied the accusation to the fabricated "parody" of President Trump's July 25 phone conversation with Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenksy that Schiff read in his opening statement of a Sept. 26 hearing.

The president tweeted: "Shifty Adam Schiff will only release doctored transcripts. We haven’t even seen the documents and are restricted from (get this) having a lawyer. Republicans should put out their own transcripts! Schiff must testify as to why he MADE UP a statement from me, and read it to all!"

The Daily Caller reported House Republicans have not publicly questioned the accuracy of any of the transcripts Democrats have been slowly releasing of the closed-door depositions.

'Tremendous bias and animus'

In the September hearing, Schiff read what he suggested was Trump's message to Zelensky: "We've been very good to your country. Very good. No other country has done as much as we have. But you know what, I don't see much reciprocity here.

"I hear what you want. I have a favor I want from you, though and I'm gonna say this only seven times, so you better listen good," Schiff continued. "I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent, understand? Lots of it ... on this and on that."

Later, Schiff later claimed his version of the call was a "parody."

Subsequently, at least 125 lawmakers supported a censure resolution that had been proposed by U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.

But majority Democrats did not allow it to move forward.

Biggs had noted Schiff "has repeatedly shown incredibly poor judgment. He has persistently and consistently demonstrated that he has such a tremendous bias and animus against Trump that he will say anything and accept any proffer of even bogus evidence to try to remove the president from office."

Democrats accuse Trump of using the power of his office to persuade a foreign nation to influence the 2020 presidential election. According to a transcript of the July phone call, Trump asked Zelensky to "look into" Hunter Biden's profiting from the Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma while his father was Obama's point man for Ukraine policy.

The White House argues the transcript of the call shows there was no quid pro quo and pointed out the president has the authority to discuss with a foreign leader a case of alleged corruption that could impact national security.

Hunter Biden was being paid at least $80,000 a month by Burisma while it was under investigation for corruption. Joe Biden, as vice president, is on video boasting of successfully pressing Ukraine to fire the prosecutor investigating Burisma by threatening to withhold U.S. aid.

At the hearing, Schiff's fictional version of the call transcript included: "I'm going to put you in touch with people, and not just any people. I'm going to put you in touch with the attorney general of the United States – my attorney general, Bill Barr – he's got the whole weight of American law enforcement behind him. And I'm going to put you in touch with Rudy, you're going to love him. Trust me. You know what I'm asking so I'm only going to say this a few more times, in a few more ways. And don't call me again. I'll call you when you've done what I asked."

The video:

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