Rep. Elise Stefanik
Elise Marie StefanikThe year of the Republican woman Republican women break barriers in House on election night Women gain uneven footholds in Congress, state legislatures MORE (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday said that House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett SchiffDevin Nunes fends off Democratic opponent in California Trump begins Election Day with confident predictions on Fox News The Memo: Tense and fractured nation braces for Election Day MORE (D-Calif.) should be the first individual Republicans call to testify in the next phase of the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump: New York won't receive COVID-19 vaccine immediately Biden considering Yellen as possible Treasury secretary: report Trump puts Giuliani in charge of election lawsuits: report MORE.
Stefanik, a Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on Fox News that Schiff needs to answer questions "under oath" in light of revelations that a government whistleblower corresponded with a House Intel panel aide before filing a complaint.
"I was the first member of Congress to ask, 'When did Adam Schiff have access to the whistleblower?' We know now that that was before the whistleblower submitted his complaint to the inspector general," she said.
"So there are a lot of serious questions about the coordination between the whistleblower and Schiff," Stefanik added, noting that the whistleblower should testify before Congress as well.
I was the first Member to ask when Adam Schiff had access to the whistleblower & it’s now clear there was significant coordination between the whistleblower and Schiff’s Democratic staff. Our 1st witness must be Adam Schiff. Watch my interview from this AM with @foxandfriends pic.twitter.com/wQYYpwljBB
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 5, 2019
"It's interesting, at first Schiff wanted the whistleblower to testify. But as it became clear that there was coordination between Adam Schiff and the Democratic staff members, now Schiff is backtracking. Which is why our first witness will be Schiff," Stefanik continued.
The comments from Stefanik zero in on the revelation from last month that an Intel Committee staffer communicated with the government whistleblower before sharing some of their concerns with Schiff. The staffer did not share the figure's identity with Schiff.
The aide also advised the figure to find a lawyer and to file a formal whistleblower complaint, processes that Schiff and other intelligence experts have said are standard procedure.
But the news led Republicans to argue that Schiff was involved in the drafting of the whistleblower complaint. Stefanik immediately called on Schiff to step down as the Intelligence Committee chairman, saying that he "manipulated" information related to the whistleblower complaint and "played partisan political games."
Schiff has helped lead a fast-moving impeachment inquiry that has included closed-door depositions from numerous former and current administration officials. The inquiry is centered around the accusation that Trump urged Ukraine to open an investigation into 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden
Joe BidenTrump: New York won't receive COVID-19 vaccine immediately Biden considering Yellen as possible Treasury secretary: report Obama hits Trump for refusing to concede, says there's 'no legal basis' for challenges MORE and his son, Hunter, over unfounded allegations of corruption.
House Democrats are also probing whether Trump tied nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine's willingness to investigate the Biden family and the 2016 election.
The House last week passed a resolution establishing rules for open hearings and the questioning of witnesses by House committee members and staff. The measure, which passed without any support from the GOP, will give House Republicans on the Judiciary and Intelligence committees the opportunity to request witnesses and documents, but Democrats may still block their requests.
Following the passage of the resolution, Rep. Doug Collins
Douglas (Doug) Allen CollinsWarnock campaign calls Facebook, Google extending ad bans 'irresponsible' ahead of Georgia runoff Trump campaign plans rallies amid efforts to challenge election results Andrew Yang moving to Georgia to help Democrats in Senate runoffs MORE (R-Ga.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, suggested that Schiff should the first witness questioned by the panel.
"This has been a partisan process from the start. Adam Schiff has conducted himself as counsel to witnesses, as judge and jury," Stefanik said on Fox News. "The American people deserve transparency."
Schiff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
