Rep. McCarthy: Schiff is a fact witness and cannot be a prosecutor
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy discusses the impeachment inquiry on 'Hannity.'
House Democrats' Trump impeachment inquiry would be thrown out of court if it were a judicial proceeding, House Minority Leader Kevin McCartthy, R-Calif., said Wednesday.
During an appearance on "Hannity," McCarthy called House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., an irresponsible leader who is acting as both a fact witness and a prosecutor.
"What we'll vote on tomorrow will not only make Adam Schiff a fact witness, a prosecutor a judge -- and a jury," he said.
"He has stopped people -- witnesses -- from answering questions. So, he objects, but then when he objects for them to answer the question, he's the judge who rules whether they should answer the question or not. He should actually send these witnesses a legal bill because he's also their attorney.
"Nowhere in our judicial system would we ever allow this. If this were a court of law, there would be a mistrial right now based upon what these Democrats have done and the way they have treated this."
In addition, McCarthy criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for allowing the proceedings to continue in the manner Schiff is handling them.
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He called the inquiry process as it is being conducted as "the fruit of the poisonous tree."
"This would all be thrown out," McCarthy claimed. "Only in Nancy's House do we write all new laws and you get no due process."
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Earlier Wednesday, "Special Report with Bret Baier," Federalist senior editor Mollie Hemingway claimed Pelosi was allowing Schiff to take the lead in impeachment inquiry proceedings because she does not trust the lawmaker leading the committee that most often oversees such a process.
That lawmaker, Hemingway said, is House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York.
"[S]he recognizes that Jerry Nadler is very bad at running hearings," she said.
"He's had disasters when he's had people -- whether it was Robert Mueller, Corey Lewandowski or John Dean. Those hearings did not go well. It's really a testament to how little she trusts Nadler."
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