Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined those remarking on the latest criminal charges brought against former President Donald Trump, which this time relate to his attempts after the last presidential election to secure another four years in power despite his documented election loss to Joe Biden.
Schiff, who was a member of the House committee that investigated both January 6 and surrounding circumstances, spoke in favor of the rule of law prevailing, questioning whether the more dangerous situation would be to have let Trump avoid even the possibility of legal consequences for the efforts he undertook.
“These new charges will stress our justice system — all the more so because they will be mischaracterized by the former president’s allies in Congress who will seek to interfere in the prosecution, and have already demonstrated a willingness to put the pursuit of power over any other consideration, even their oaths of office,” Schiff argued this week. “But the only thing more dangerous to our democracy than holding the powerful to account when they try to subvert our elections — would be the failure to do so. The interests of justice and our democracy must be served.”
In Congress, Republican allies of the former president have already clamored against some of the proceedings that have emerged implicating him, stretching back to the criminal case unveiled in Manhattan that relates to hush money given to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Led in part by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), these party figures have pursued inside information, repeatedly running into questions of preserving the integrity of grand jury proceedings and related investigative processes. Concerns from some of those with the information have included the protection of those involved.
Trump, meanwhile, continues to allege that he’s the victim of what he’s characterized as election interference, besides also making comparisons between his treatment and Nazi Germany. The investigations that culminated in the now three criminal cases against him were known before he confirmed his 2024 presidential campaign.
