Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.) on Sunday said Democrats should not be racing to impeach President Donald Trump until Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the House Intelligence Committee have concluded their investigations into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
MSNBC host Joy Reid described how Schiff's Democratic colleague, Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.), has been open about her objective to impeach Trump. Reid asked the congressman whether he personally believed the president has committed impeachable offenses.
Schiff said he has previously had the "unusual experience" of trying to impeach an official when he was involved with the case of U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana, suggesting it is not a course to pursue lightly. He went on to talk about how difficult it would be for Democrats to impeach Trump, citing Republican control in Congress and Trump's anti-impeachment argument at all his rallies.
"My feeling is that we shouldn't give any ammunition to the idea that we are racing to embrace this before all the facts are in," Schiff said. "Let's finish our investigations. Let's see where they lead. Let's find out what the president's conduct has been as well as those around him, and those in the campaign, and then we can make a decision about what the consequences should be."
Schiff is a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee and been frequently brought on various news networks to discuss the latest information in the Russia investigation. His call for Democrats not to prematurely race towards impeachment conflicts with Waters, who has repeatedly called for Trump's impeachment despite an inability to cite evidence that would warrant impeachment.
Schiff's position on impeachment aligns with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) who said in July that she has always been "reluctant" to pursue impeachment.
"We need to follow the facts, and what did the rest of the family know and when did they know it?" Pelosi said. "I've always been reluctant, because I think impeachment is something that really has an impact on the country. So when the facts are clear—the law is certainly clear—when the facts are clear, then this Congress will make a decision in that regard."