Add to the list of Trump administration investigations planned by Rep. Adam Schiff, incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee: a probe into whether acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is doing anything to impede the special counsel.
“We are going to bring Whitaker before the Congress, assuming he’s still in his position at the time when Democrats take over,” Mr. Schiff said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We may bring him in whether he’s in that position or not, to find out the answers to these questions.”
Asked if he had seen Mr. Whitaker take any “concrete steps” to shut down the investigation, Mr. Schiff said he had not, criticizing Mr. Whitaker for “not telling us.”
“The fact of the matter is, he’s not telegraphing what he’s doing. He’s not telling us, he’s not telling anyone, at least in Congress,” Mr. Schiff said.
Democrats have accused President Trump of naming Mr. Whitaker, who was appointed Nov. 7 to take over after the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to derail special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Mr. Schiff said he had a host of questions for Mr. Whitaker, including whether he has presented Mr. Mueller with a deadline for wrapping up the probe and “whether he will allow Mueller to subpoena the president.”
“We simply don’t know, but I’ll tell you this, Dana, we’re going to find out,” he told CNN anchor Dana Bash. “The American people need to know whether this president is obstructing justice.”
Mr. Schiff also said that he plans to look into the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed last month in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey, the president’s financial holdings, and whether Mr. Trump’s investments have affected U.S. foreign policy.
“I think the president is being dishonest with the American people,” Mr. Schiff said. “I don’t know why. Frankly, the president has been dishonest with the country about a great many things. But I think what is most important here is we need to speak up for our democratic values.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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