Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) suggested Saturday that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) will not release Michael Atkinson’s transcript amid an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
As the inquiry moves from the House Intelligence Committee to the Judiciary Committee, headed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Ratcliffe claimed Atkinson, who is the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG), may have revealed information about a potential link between Schiff or his staff and the whistleblower who triggered the inquiry.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the existence of the whistleblower complaint about a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Democrats seized on the complaint, announced the inquiry, and claimed there was quid pro quo in the president’s dealings with Ukraine. They have alleged that Trump abused his power by withholding U.S. foreign aid to the country in exchange for investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden, and the younger Biden’s role as a board member on Ukrainian company Burisma Holdings.
Some GOP lawmakers have said Schiff himself should be called to testify in the Senate and in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
The calls for Schiff to testify continued Monday, as White House adviser Kellyanne Conway challenged him to testify in the coming hearings.
“Is Adam Schiff going to testify? Because he’s a fact witness. That would be great. I’ll tell you what, if Adam Schiff testifies, I’ll show up on behalf of the White House,” she added.