Ranking Republican: Let's hear from Schiff under oath

Rep. Adam Schiff

The ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, which has taken up the impeachment investigation, has delivered a list of witnesses he considers essential to justice.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., sent a letter Friday to Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

Collins asked for witnesses who would counteract the Democratic "position" he describes as "a breathtaking denial of the president's right to the presumption of innocence and his right to confront any witnesses making accusations against him."

"Although the committee is not bound as a matter of House Rules to provide these protections, we believe it is incumbent upon the committee to provide these basic protections. As Rep. Barbara Jordan, D-Texas, observed during the Watergate inquiry, impeachment not only mandates due process, but of [sic] 'due process quadrupled.'"

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Collins said that during the Intelligence Committee hearings, Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., provided "zero due process."

Schiff is the first person on the Republicans' witness list.

"As the author of the Intelligence Committee report and the chief prosecutor for the House, it is imperative that Chairman Schiff testify before this committee and entertain questions from duly elected members of Congress," Collins wrote.

Then there's the "anonymous whistleblower whose complaint initiated this 'impeachment inquiry.'"

Thought to be CIA employee Eric Ciaramella, he "is the accuser who initiated this impeachment process. Moreover, the inspector general of the Intelligence Community reported that the whistleblower had a bias against President Trump. And public reporting suggests he or she worked closely with Vice President Biden and coordinated his or her complaint with Chairman Adam Schiff or his staff."

Further, there are the people on whom the whistleblower relied, since his claims were hearsay.

The sources "provided information that does not match the testimony from witnesses before the Intelligence Committee, especially as it relates to whether the president conditioned a face-to-face visit or U.S. military assistance on announcing or opening investigations," the letter explains.

There also is the intelligence employee who talked with Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman about the July phone call between the presidents of U.S. and Ukraine, on which the impeachment inquiry rests.

"Vindman testified that he shared details of President Trump's July 25 call with two individuals outside of the White House: Department of State Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent, and "an individual in the Intelligence Community."

Collins want that person identified.

Devon Archer, who along with Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, is a former board member of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings, is needed to "shed light on the nature and extent of Ukraine's private-sector corruption generally, and at Burisma specifically."

Hunter Biden should testify, too, the letter said.

"As noted above, Burisma has a reputation for corruption and has been subject to multiple anticorruption investigations. According to public reports, Hunter Biden was recruited to sit on its board to improve its public image at the time when his father, Vice President Joe Biden, was the Obama administration's point person for Ukraine policy. Mr. Biden was paid a substantial sum without having any obvious qualifications. Multiple Democrat-invited witnesses testified during this 'impeachment inquiry' that this created at least the appearance of impropriety. Mr. Biden's experience with Burisma will help the public understand the nature and extent of corruption at Burisma and in Ukraine," Collins said.

Another relevant fact witness is Nellie Ohr, who worked for the opposition research firm Fusion GPS, which produced the infamous anti-Trump "Steele dossier" funded by Democrats.

And Alexandra Chalupa, a former Democratic National Committee staffer, should testify.

It was during the 2016 campaign that Chalupa "worked with the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C. to obtain political dirt on then-candidate Trump’s campaign," the letter said.

"Chalupa admitted to providing anti-Trump dirt to the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign, and to discussing that dirt with then-Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Valeriy Chaly. Given President Trump’s documented belief that Ukrainians meddled in the 2016 election, Ms. Chalupa is a relevant fact witness who will help the public understand the basis for President Trump’s belief that Ukrainians meddled in the 2016 presidential election," it said.