On the heels of the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) trolled leading pro-impeachment Democrat Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
“An anonymous ‘whistleblower’ informs us that this was found in a hotel room that [Rep. Adam Schiff] recently check out of. Hmmm…,” Senator Paul captioned a mock photo of a note.
“Things to do,” the fake note reads, “Remember to tap Devin Nunes phone.”
An anonymous “whistleblower” informs us that this was found in a hotel room that @RepAdamSchiff recently check out of. Hmmm… pic.twitter.com/hk3ni4G7ms
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 16, 2020
In early December, the House Intelligence Committee “released a report on the impeachment inquiry which included records of calls from Nunes, presidential lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, journalist John Solomon, Fox News host Sean Hannity, a Giuliani connection Lev Parnas, and other White House associates,” Fox News reported at the time. “Schiff subpoenaed both AT&T and Verizon for the information. The act has sent a chill among Republicans concerned about the chairman’s reach.”
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) smacked Schiff over the power grab and apparent civil rights violation during a Fox News appearance following the news.
“They have now set a precedent where Adam Schiff can go get any phone number he has to AT&T and AT&T is going to comply,” the congressman explained, according to Fox.
“If you look at what he did then, it’s not just the president’s phone records — okay — or the president’s lawyer’s phone records, he also was able to get a journalist who they hate … who they say is a conspiracy theorist,” continued Nunes. “And, he was able to figure out that that was John Solomon’s phone number.”
“Then, he was able to get my number, right? And, because I had talked to Rudy Giuliani and somehow that’s now a crime, and then I make it into his report,” the Republican said.
“And, we have to remember … we spent the last three years, at first if any Republican ever talked to any Russian at any time — even if you are Russian-American — that was a no-no. Then we were criticized,” Nunes emphasized. “We switched to Ukraine. If you talk to any Ukrainian that’s now a crime. Now, I can’t even talk to Rudy Giuliani who I have known for 10 years. That’s supposedly a crime.”
Spokesman for Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee Patrick Boland told The Daily Beast that investigators “did not subpoena call records for any member of Congress or their staff … or for any journalist.”
“Any questions about the fact that Members, congressional staff, or journalists appear in call records released by the Committee should be directed at those individuals, who were in contact with individuals of investigative interest to the impeachment inquiry,” Boland said.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named Schiff as one of the seven individuals to serve as House managers during the Senate impeachment trial.
“I’m humbled by the solemn responsibility of serving as lead House Manager in the Senate impeachment trial,” Schiff posted Wednesday. “Together, the Managers will work on behalf of the American people in defense of our Constitution. The House upheld our Constitutional duty. The Senate must do the same.”
I'm humbled by the solemn responsibility of serving as lead House Manager in the Senate impeachment trial.
Together, the Managers will work on behalf of the American people in defense of our Constitution.
The House upheld our Constitutional duty. The Senate must do the same.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) January 15, 2020