While questioning Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) mentioned morality and ethical behavior when it comes to seeking foreign help to harm one’s political opponent.
Though Mueller’s report did not find evidence to indict President Donald Trump on a nebulous claim of “collusion” with Russia to steal the 2016 election, Schiff still insisted the evidence was there and that even if it wasn’t, Trump and his associates acted unethically. At one point while questioning Mueller, Schiff suggested elected officials should be held to a higher standard “than mere avoidance of criminality.”
“The need to act in ethical manner is not just a moral one, but when people act unethically it also exposes them to compromise particularly in dealing with foreigners, is that true?” Schiff asked Mueller.
Mueller obviously answered “true” to Schiff’s proselytizing. In his closing statements, Schiff said:
Protecting the sanctity of our elections begins with the recognition that accepting foreign help is disloyal to our country, unethical and wrong.
We cannot control what the Russians do, not completely, but we can decide what we do and that this centuries-old experiment we call American democracy is worth cherishing.
The statements appear hypocritical coming from Schiff, who two years ago eagerly attempted to obtain naked photos of Trump from two Russian pranksters whom he was told were Ukrainian officials, including chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament Andriy Parubiy. The pranksters had claimed Trump had sex with Russian model Olga Buzova after the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.
Schiff’s office, after getting caught, claimed he suspected it was fake and had “informed appropriate law-enforcement and security personnel of the conversation” before and after the call, a spokesman told the Atlantic in 2018.
Yet an audio recording of the call shows the congressman actively attempting to get the alleged photos from the pranksters.
One of the pranksters told Schiff that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goddaughter obtained “pictures of naked Trump.”
Schiff then asked, according to a transcript from Real Clear Politics: “And the materials you can provide to the committee and to the FBI, would they corroborate this allegation? … So you have recordings… where they’re discussing the compromising material?”
“Obviously we would welcome the chance to get copies of those recordings,” Schiff added. “So, we will try to work with the FBI to try to figure out how we can take copies of those… I’ll be in touch with the FBI about this, and we’ll make arrangements with your staff. I think it would be best to provide these materials to both our committee and the FBI. We’ll make arrangements between my staff and yours on how to facilitate that.”
The pranksters gave The Daily Mail emails which show that, contrary to Schiff’s claims of knowing the call was a hoax, his staff continued to communicate with the pranksters to try and set up a meeting to collect the allegedly compromising materials at the Ukraine embassy in Washington, D.C.
House Intelligence committee staffer (working for Democrats) Rheanne Wirkkala reached out to the pranksters to obtain the materials they claimed to have.
“I understand Mr. Schiff had a productive call with Mr. Parubiy, and that Mr. Parubiy would like to make some materials available to Mr. Schiff through your Embassy. Please let me know how best to arrange pick-up of those materials from your Embassy here in Washington, D.C.,” Wirkkala wrote.
In another email, she expressed a willingness to obtain the materials.
“All that sounds great,” she wrote in an email to the pranksters. “Please let me know when the materials are ready to be picked up from the Embassy here in Washington, and in the meantime I will wait for the unclassified documents you can provide.”
The Mail reported that the FBI could not comment on whether Schiff’s office actually had contacted them about the call.