Impeachmentpalooza’s big moment on Tuesday was during the testimony of LTC Alexander Vindman — who gets very upset if not addressed properly — when Adam Schiff interrupted him, claiming to want to protect the identity of the whistleblower he says he does not know.
Watch:
WATCH: After Alexander Vindman admits he spoke to someone in the intelligence community about President Trump's phone call with Ukraine, Adam Schiff shuts down Republicans' questions and tells Vindman to not answer.
It sure seems like Schiff knows who the whistleblower is! pic.twitter.com/CHYJRWlges
— Trump War Room – Text WOKE to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) November 19, 2019
What’s strange about this part of the testimony is that Vindman already testified under oath that he did not know the identity of the whistleblower. How could he “out” the identity of the whistleblower if he does not know who it is? Further, Schiff also claims to not know the identity of the super-secret whistleblower, but he stopped Vindman from identifying the person he says he spoke to in the intelligence community about the Ukranian phone call. Vindman stated he spoke to “two U.S. officials with appropriate need to know…Department of State, Deputy Secretary George Kent…and an individual in the intelligence community.” When Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) asked him to identify which intelligence community the second person was in, Adam Schiff interrupted him and instructed the witness not to continue lest he out the whistleblower everyone claims not to know.
“We need to protect the whistleblower,” said Schiff, amid groans and grumbling around the gallery. “I want to advise the witness accordingly.” After that interruption, Vindman refused to answer the question “on advice of counsel.”
I think a lot of us would like to know the answer to Nunes’s next question: “You said in your deposition that you did not know who the whistleblower was. How is it possible for you to name these people and out the whistleblower?”
What is clear is that no one believes that Schiff does not know who the whistleblower is. Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had a good moment, calling him out on that whopper. “You have said, though no one believes you, that you don’t know who the whistleblower is, so how is this outing the whistleblower?”
How can @RepAdamSchiff say that Republicans are trying to "out" the whistleblower if Schiff (as he claims) doesn't know who the whistleblower is?
— Oversight Committee Republicans (@GOPoversight) November 19, 2019
The president has also weighed in, retweeting Representative Steve Scalise, who said, “Schiff just shut down Ranking Member @DevinNunes to advise one of his star witnesses on how to answer a question about the whistleblower. But Schiff likes to claim he doesn’t know who the whistleblower is…So then how would he know Nunes is asking about the whistleblower?”
🚨🚨 Schiff just shut down Ranking Member @DevinNunes to advise one of his star witnesses on how to answer a question about the whistleblower.
But Schiff likes to claim he doesn't know who the whistleblower is… So then how would he know Nunes is asking about the whistleblower? pic.twitter.com/QT06yMcRC7
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) November 19, 2019
The impeachment inquiry, while mildly entertaining, does not hold a candle to #fartgate. I think I’ll go back to investigating the Deep State coverup of on-air flatulence.
Megan Fox is the author of “Believe Evidence; The Death of Due Process from Salome to #MeToo.” Follow on Twitter @MeganFoxWriter
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