House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) suggested the House will move ahead with the impeachment inquiry following two weeks of public hearings.
“But at the same time, there are still other witnesses, other documents that we’d like to obtain. But we are not willing to go the months and months and months of rope-a-dope in the courts, which the administration would love to do,” he added.
However, he said that the inquiry “investigation isn’t going to end” and he does not “foreclose the possibility of” other public hearings.
Democrats have alleged that President Donald Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for politically advantageous investigations. The White House and Ukrainian officials have denied the allegations.
Reports said that the impeachment inquiry will now have to be compiled into a report and sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which is headed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). The committee will draft articles of impeachment in the House.
Later in the interview, Schiff dismissed calls for him to testify in the Senate if articles of impeachment are passed.
“If the Senate wants to call me as a witness, then they pretty much made the decision not to take this process seriously. I’m not a fact witness. I was the chairman of one of the committees doing an investigation. I am not in the shoes of a special counsel. I don’t work for the Justice Department. All I can relate is what the witnesses said in deposition and in the open hearings, and that’s no reason to call me as a witness,” he remarked.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he disagrees with Schiff’s claims.
Democrats, he said, don’t have enough evidence to warrant impeaching Trump.
“There was no direct evidence of pressure on the Ukrainian government to do a certain act in order for the aid to go forward,” Wicker said.
Wicker also pointed to polls in recent days, saying that public opinion is souring on the impeachment process.
“The polls are turning in the president’s favor. You’ve got the Marquette Poll in Wisconsin, which is the gold standard of Wisconsin polls. Then you’ve got the Emerson Poll, which is a nationwide poll, which actually shows Trump’s favorability going up. And I just think the people out there don’t think this investigation is fair. They know that only Democrat witnesses were allowed to be called,” Wicker said.
Last week, Trump told reporters that he wants the Senate impeachment trial.
