Tipsheet

Here's Why Schiff Is Standing By His 'Head on a Pike' Comment

Beth Baumann
Beth Baumann  |  January 26, 2020 12:50 PM

On Friday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman and the lead Impeachment Manager, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), read a quote from a CBS News article that said GOP senators' heads "will be on a pike" if they vote against President Trump. Senators reacted instantly, saying the report was false. 

Numerous Republican senators reiterated that the report was false, including Sens. Lisa Murkowksi (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Barrasso (R-WY):

Despite that, Schiff is sticking to his comments. In fact, he doubled down during a Sunday morning interview with CBS News' Chuck Todd.

"At what point should the voters have this decision verses the Senate?" Todd asked.

"Well, it's a broader argument than that. Their argument is that you cannot impeach a president In his first term because it will either overturn the will of the voters who elected him or prevent him from being on the ballot the next time," Schill explained. "Now, the remedy of impeachment, if it's meant to be a meaningful remedy, means that you can remove a president from office and if a president commits serious misconduct in his first term, doesn't mean he gets a pass."

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Todd asked Schiff what he thought of Republican senators criticizing him for his "head on a pike" comments, saying they believe the House Intelligence Committee chairman "got too personal."

"Well, I don't think it was personal to refer to this CBS story. What may be personal though – and I think I have to be very candid about this – is I made the argument that it's going to require moral courage to stand up to this president," Schiff explained. "And this is a wrathful and vindictive president. I don't think there's any doubt about it. And if you think there is, just look at the president's tweets about me today, saying that I should pay a price."

"It is going to be very difficult for some of these senators to stand up to this president. It really is. There's no question about it," he said. "And I want to acknowledge that. And I don't want to acknowledge it in a way that's offensive to them but I do want to speak candidly about it."

Why is it so hard for Democrats to realize that maybe, just maybe, there are Republican senators who see through this farce? Why is it so hard for them to realize that their case is severely flawed? The entire impeachment saga has been a mess from the get-go. And senators are saying the House isn't going to come in and dictate how the Senate should run their chambers. That doesn't mean they're being threatened. It means they're putting Democrats back in their place.