Schiff: Case for impeachment inquiry ‘gets stronger’ with Trump stonewalling

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that he believes the case for an impeachment inquiry is “getting stronger” as the administration continues to “stonewall” Congress. 

His comments follow the Trump administration’s rejection of several congressional subpoenas in recent weeks, as well as his own suggestion that impeachment could be used as a “tool” to get information. {mosads}

He told CNN Tuesday that the administration is “certainly pushing the Congress in that direction by obstructing everything.” 

The California Democrat added that he expects “we’ll have a discussion about that today.”

He said that the case for impeachment “gets stronger the more they stonewall the Congress.”

Rep. Adam Schiff: “I think the case [for impeachment inquiry] gets stronger the more they stonewall the Congress.” pic.twitter.com/TkMSr8tYjX

— The Hill (@thehill) May 21, 2019

Last week, the White House rejected a House Judiciary Committee subpoena for oversight records. The Treasury Department also defied a congressional demand for President Trump’s tax returns, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin writing in a letter that the subpoena “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.”

On Tuesday, former White House counsel Don McGahn did not appear to testify before the House despite a subpoena. 

Schiff, who was once skeptical of impeachment, has indicated in recent days that he might be more open to the idea. He said Sunday during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation that impeachment “provides an additional tool.”

“If the only way that we can do our oversight is through an impeachment proceeding then maybe we have to go down that road,” he said. “But I think it’ll be important to show the American people this was a decision made reluctantly.”

An impeachment inquiry is an investigation and is not an impeachment floor vote to bring charges against the president.