Trump suggests Adam Schiff will manipulate transcripts ‘to suit the Dems’ purposes’

President Donald Trump predicted this weekend that House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), a “proven liar,” will tamper with impeachment-related evidence, the Washington Examiner reports. And as usual, the president pulled no punches.

“If Shifty Adam Schiff, who is a corrupt politician who fraudulently made up what I said on the ‘call,’ is allowed to release transcripts of the Never Trumpers [and] others that are [and] were interviewed, he will change the words that were said to suit the Dems’ purposes,” Trump wrote in a tweet on Sunday.

Trump went on to argue that Republicans “should give their own transcripts of the interviews to contrast with Schiff’s manipulated propaganda.”

“House Republicans must have nothing to do with Shifty’s rendition of those interviews,” Trump wrote. “He is a proven liar, leaker [and] freak who is really the one who should be impeached!”

“A lot of selective leaking”

When it comes to Schiff’s conduct, Trump isn’t the only one complaining. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R) told Fox News last month that “Adam Schiff does a lot of selective leaking.”

“Everything is a clown show,” Kinzinger added. “Everybody in this process is losing credibility and frankly the American people have lost, and are losing faith in the institutions of government.”

Rep. Devin Nunes, a California Republican who previously chaired the House Intelligence panel, has also leveled accusations of his own against Schiff. Nunes told Fox’s Sean Hannity on Tuesday that during a closed-door impeachment hearing last week, Schiff regularly paused the proceedings to coach a witness.

“I have never in my life seen anything like what happened today,” Nunes said. “They’ve been bad at most of these depositions, but to interrupt us continually to coach the witness, to decide…what we’re going to be able to ask the witness.”

Take a look at Nunes’ discussion with Hannity, courtesy of the Washington Examiner:

No trust in “Shifty” Schiff

Of course, the fact that Schiff is facing these allegations isn’t all that surprising given his history of questionable behavior. As Trump alluded to in his Sunday tweet, Schiff recited an improvised version of the president’s July phone call with Ukraine’s leader rather than read the text verbatim in a House hearing in September. (The congressman later claimed to be engaged in parody, according to Fox.)

Additionally, according to The Washington Post, Schiff said in a September appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that neither he nor anyone on his staff had contact with the so-called “whistleblower” whose complaint first brought Trump’s Ukraine call to light. But less than a month later, The New York Times reported otherwise, revealing in a tweet:

The whistleblower gave an early account of allegations against President Trump to a House aide who outlined it to Rep. Adam Schiff, who is now leading the impeachment inquiry.

With this in mind, it’s clear that Schiff can’t be trusted. President Trump is right to sound the alarm.