Rep. Adam Schiff debunked the whataboutism that Republicans are using by bringing up Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden when defending Trump.
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Schiff said on CNN:
Well, there’s always this false equivalence argument made by Republicans. What those cases never presented was evidence of a deliberate intent to misuse classified information or to put it somewhere where it wasn’t supposed to belong or to obstruct an investigation. All things that are very much present in the Trump situation.
Had Trump returned the documents, had he made no effort to hide them, had he not lied through his lawyers to investigators, he wouldn’t be in this situation. And it’s that malicious conduct that distinguishes it from any kind of incidental use of classified information or the incidental bringing of materials back after the presidency. This was anything but incidental in Trump’s case.
Trump isn’t like Mike Pence, or Joe Biden, or Hillary Clinton, because all three of those people cooperated with the DOJ. Donald Trump chose to do the opposite of cooperation. The former president lied, denied, and obstructed the investigation. All he had to do was give the documents back. It has been said a million times, but it is true. All of the other false equivalencies that Republicans bring up to defend Trump did not behave as Trump did.
None of the previous cases were criminally charged because those other former or current public officials did not refuse to comply with the law.
Republicans don’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to defending Trump, which is why they are trying to distort the picture to muddy the waters.
Trump decided to commit crimes instead of following the law, and that is why he was indicted.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
This story originally appeared on Politicususa
