CNN anchor Chris Cuomo pressed California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff about the lack of impeachment inquiry witnesses overtly claiming that President Donald Trump committed a crime.
The Thursday night “Cuomo Prime Time” conversation came after Timothy Morrison, White House senior director for European affairs, testified in hearings that he did not believe “anything illegal” occurred during the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
After Schiff stated his belief that Trump considered himself “above the law” with “no accountability,” Cuomo pointed out the fact that, other than “I guess” Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s testimony, no other witnesses seemed to consider Trump’s actions on the call illegal or an abuse of power, though many have expressed dissatisfaction in other ways.
“Do you think that hurts you?” Cuomo asked. “Because it certainly bolsters the courage of Republicans to say, even Mr. Morrison today, ‘yeah, they all saw it for what it was but they didn’t think it was a crime.'”
“You know, Chris, I can’t go into the substance of the testimony,” Schiff responded. “I wouldn’t agree with the general characterization you’ve made of it, but you’ll have the opportunity to read the transcripts very soon for yourself and decide what does the evidence show.” (RELATED: CNN’s Cuomo Eats Crow After Slamming Analyst Who Suggested Schiff Had Whistleblower Complaint In Advance)
Despite there being “differences between the witnesses and their opinions” and “recollections,” Schiff stated that he believes there is a “consistent narrative here about what took place.” He then called on the American people to “make their own judgment” when they hear from the “witnesses directly.”