Tucker Carlson: ‘Sociopath’ Adam Schiff should resign from Congress over Russia probe

Fox News host Tucker Carlson called Friday for Rep. Adam B. Schiff to resign for having said there is evidence that President Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government.

The conservative commentator and host of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” said during his show’s latest episode that the California Democrat and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence should step down following the release of transcripts from closed-door interviews conducted as part of the panel’s investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential race.

Mr. Carlson said the transcripts showed several witnesses testifying that they had not personally seen any evidence of Mr. Trump’s election campaign colluding with Russia, but that Mr. Schiff claimed to the contrary that there was clear and ample evidence of a conspiracy.

In a more than 11-minute-long monologue, Mr. Carlson accused the congressman of concentrating on the Russia probe — “an elaborate and intentional hoax,” according to the Fox News host — instead of focusing on “the dangerous rise of Chinese global dominance” and other issues that came into focus as a result of on ongoing coronavirus pandemic that began in China last year.

“We didn’t have time to consider the fundamental health of America because we were busy talking about Russia,” Mr. Carlson argued.

“Schiff knew there was nothing substantial at the core of the Russian collusion story. At the very center, it was hollow, it was a sham. Schiff never suggested this in public. Instead, he did the opposite. He spent years on television telling you it was totally real,” Mr. Carlson said during the segment. “Adam Schiff is a sociopath. He will do or say anything to achieve power. He is unfit to hold office. He should resign.”

Spokespeople for Mr. Schiff’s office did not immediately return a request for comment over the weekend.

The U.S. intelligence community reported in early 2017 that Russia interference in the previous year’s presidential election, and the House committee launched its own investigation shortly afterward. A separate probe conducted by the Department of Justice’s office of the special counsel subsequently determined that Russia interfered in the election but did not find evidence that it coordinated with Mr. Trump’s campaign.

In a statement issued with the release of the committee’s transcripts Thursday, Mr. Schiff said the interviews showed that “the Trump campaign, and Donald Trump himself, invited illicit Russian help, made full use of that help, and then lied and obstructed the investigations in order to cover up this misconduct.”