FBI investigation of Trump's ex-security adviser 'clearly retribution,' Sen. Schiff says

11 hours ago 14
ARTICLE AD BOX

Sen. Adam Schiff says the FBI search of former national security adviser John Bolton’s home and office for classified information is a clear case of President Trump seeking retribution against his political foes.

“This is clearly retribution,” Mr. Schiff, California Democrat, said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “What the president is trying to do here is very systemic and systematic, and that is anyone who stands up to the president — anyone who criticizes the president, anyone who says anything adverse to the president’s interests — gets the full weight of the federal government brought down on them.”

The FBI on Friday searched Mr. Bolton’s home in Maryland and office in Washington as part of an investigation into whether he collected or leaked sensitive national security information.

Mr. Bolton served as national security adviser for 17 months during Mr. Trump’s first term in office. He has become a vocal critic of Mr. Trump, who has made a habit of publicly deriding Mr. Bolton.

“I’m not a fan of John Bolton,” Mr. Trump told reporters Friday after the raids began. “He’s a real sort of a lowlife.”

Mr. Trump said he was not aware of the FBI raid, which Mr. Schiff and others insist is part of a broader trend of vengeance.

Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed that accusation, saying the FBI’s raid was “not at all” about retribution.

“Who has said it looks a lot like retribution?” Mr. Vance said on “Meet the Press.” “A lot of people who tried to throw Donald Trump in prison for completely fake charges that were later thrown out by multiple different courts.”

“I suspect that if the media and the American people let this case actually unfold, if they let the investigation unfold as it’s currently doing, they’re going to find out that what we’re doing is being very deliberate and being very driven by the national interest, and by the law here,” he said.

Mr. Schiff has been another of Mr. Trump’s favorite targets.

Mr. Schiff was elected to the Senate last fall after serving as a leader in the House Democrats’ push to impeach Mr. Trump during his first term.

Mr. Trump nicknamed him “Shifty Schiff” and repeatedly mocked his appearance, saying he looks like he got hit by a baseball bat.

Attorney General Pam Bondi this month appointed a “special attorney” to investigate mortgage fraud allegations against Mr. Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, another high-profile Trump nemesis.

On Sunday, Mr. Schiff said Mr. Bolton was not randomly targeted.

“They’re essentially going after any critic, any opposition, in an effort to intimidate them,” Mr. Schiff said. “That’s what this is about.”

“It’s not as — it’s not about Bolton, per se,” he said. “It’s about anyone else like Bolton that might stand up to the president.”

Read Entire Article