Schiff paints a picture of presidential abuse of power as Nunes slams Democrats' 'Watergate fantasies'


Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), its top Republican, painted opposing pictures of the purpose of the hearing of former Ukrainian ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, in their opening statements Friday. Yovanovitch appeared before the committee in the second public hearing in the impeachment process to date; she had previously spoken to the lawmakers behind closed doors.
The ousting of Yovanovitch by President Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, "helped set the stage for an irregular channel" that allowed the president to pursue "the 2016 conspiracy theory and most important, an investigation into the 2020 political opponent he apparently feared most, Joe Biden," Schiff said. "And the president's scheme might have worked but for the fact that the man who would succeed Ambassador Yovanovitch, whom we heard from on Wednesday, Acting Ambassador [William] Taylor, would eventually discover the effort to press Ukraine into conducting these investigations, and would push back. But for the fact, also, that someone blew the whistle."
Nunes, by contrast, set the stage for Republicans to tiptoe around Yovanovitch; rather than reference her directly, he painted Friday's hearing as another of the Democrats' "Watergate fantasies" and "daylong TV spectacles, instead of solving the problems we were all sent to Washington to address." In fact, the only mention of Yovanovitch in Nunes' opening statement at all was in the title, Bloomberg's Steven Dennis noted.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Instead, Nunes pivoted attention to what he described as an effort to "topple a duly elected president," and muddied the waters with "three crucial questions" that re-framed conspiratorial conservative talking points concerning Hunter Biden, Ukrainian election meddling, and Democrats' alleged coordination with the whistleblower, despite such claims having been repeatedly disproved.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
From Da Vinci to a golden toilet: a history of museum heists
In the Spotlight Following the ‘spectacular’ events at the Louvre, museums are ‘increasingly being targeted by criminal gangs’
-
Can Gen Z uprisings succeed where other protest movements failed?
Today's Big Question Apolitical and leaderless, youth-led protests have real power but are vulnerable to the strongman opportunist
-
The allegations of Christian genocide in Nigeria
The Explainer West African nation has denied claims from US senator and broadcaster
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections