Rep. Adam Schiff warned President Trump that an indictment could be waiting for him on the day he leaves the White House and that he faces a very “real prospect of jail time.”
The California congressman, who likely will be tasked to lead the House Intelligence Committee when Democrats take over next month, outlined multiple areas that could be investigated in regards to President Trump.
“There’s a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office the Justice Department may indict him,” Schiff told “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
He went on to imply the President could “be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time,” and was so confident of that prospect that “the next president (will have) to determine whether to pardon Donald Trump.”
There’s a real prospect that when Trump leaves office, he may be indicted and face the possibility of jail time. Were he not President, he may have already been charged.
While ordinary Americans legally supported campaigns, Trump, like Cohen, played by a different set of rules. pic.twitter.com/URoeRT66RY
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 9, 2018
Schiff emboldened by Cohen filing
Schiff made his comment following last week’s court filing in which a substantial prison sentence was recommended for Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, by special counsel Robert Mueller.
He and the Democrats have been emboldened by the prospect that Cohen tried to break campaign finance laws at the direction of Trump.
Problem being, a similar incident has already taken place on the matter, in which former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards successfully had his case abandoned when he argued that the use of campaign funds to hide an extramarital affair were actually just gifts given to keep the scandal quiet, and would have been given no matter his political standing.
The precedent has been set, and many prosecutors noted at the time that Edwards’ hush money payments while seedy, were not criminal, and that bringing an indictment in the first place was an overreach.
Aside from the Cohen mess, Schiff believes the committee could also investigate the President on his ‘authoritarian tendencies,’ his handling of Saudi Arabia in light of the Khashoggi killing, and his dealings with China and North Korea.
Schiff’s assertion is unfounded propaganda
Schiff’s claims of jail time for the President, while likely making for a wide-eyed dream come true for the Democrat, have little to no basis in reality.
There are two major points to take away from these comments.
One, Schiff doesn’t site Russian ‘collusion’ when he lists his reasons for why Trump may one day be indicted. It’s practically a tacit admission that the special counsel, two years into an investigation, still has no proof of any coordination between the campaign and the Kremlin.
“Democrats can’t find a Smocking Gun tying the Trump campaign to Russia after James Comey’s testimony. No Smocking Gun…No Collusion.” @FoxNews That’s because there was NO COLLUSION. So now the Dems go to a simple private transaction, wrongly call it a campaign contribution,…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2018
….which it was not (but even if it was, it is only a CIVIL CASE, like Obama’s – but it was done correctly by a lawyer and there would not even be a fine. Lawyer’s liability if he made a mistake, not me). Cohen just trying to get his sentence reduced. WITCH HUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2018
They’ve reduced the case from alleged treason by colluding with a foreign government to relatively minor campaign finance violations that have no chance of leading to jail time. Sad!
Second point – Schiff can’t spearhead an investigation on colluding with a foreign government without looking into his own actions, in which he, himself, tried to collude with a foreign government to take down President Trump.
Schiff was duped by a pair of Russian comedians who promised naked photos of Trump that had been seen by Vladimir Putin. No, we’re not even vaguely kidding.
https://t.co/D6OfPIP6EU CAUGHT! Adam Schiff gets caught in prank call from Russian comedians. He was trying to dig up dirt on Trump in a secret call with Russian agents. He didn’t know he was being pranked. He was promised nude photos of @realDonaldTrump . Must listen
— Stonewall Jackson (@1776Stonewall) February 6, 2018
While the comedians described their prank as “completely absurd,” Schiff – despite later protests that he knew it was bogus – fell hook, line, and sinker, even going so far as to arrange for staff to collect “classified” material for the FBI.
The scandal even prompted one lawmaker to demand Schiff step down from any handling of the investigation of Trump.
“(Schiff) has gone from having an oversight responsibility to an actual principal in this investigation for engaging with ‘Ukrainians,'” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) claimed.
Now he’ll be heading the House Oversight Committee? After trying to work with a foreign government to treasonously take down the President?