Adam Schiff describes Republican Party as the ‘anti-truth party’ over its opposition to Jan 6 probe

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff on Monday said the Republican Party did not want the truth to emerge about the violence that engulfed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, labelling it the ‘anti-truth party’ for threatening to punish members who joined the House committee investigation.

Republicans have dismissed the probe as partisan and want House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to take action after two of his picks for the committee were rejected.

‘Well it tells you where Kevin McCarthy is and where the Republican Party is and that is, they’re an anti-truth party, they don’t want the facts to come out about January 6,’ said House Intelligence Committee chairman Schiff, who was appointed to the select committee. 

In an interview with CNN’s New Day, he also said the committee will do everything in its powers to force former President Trump to answer questions about the events of Jan. 6.

The committee will begin its deliberations on Tuesday when it is due to hear from police officers who tried to hold back the violent mob of attackers.  

But its work is already overshadowed by a political row over its composition.

Former President Trump has played down the scale of the violence on Jan 6. Schiff said the committee had a range of tools to compel the former president to give evidence

The House Jan 6. select committee is due to begin hearing from witnesses on Tuesday

Republican leaders promised a boycott after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed two of McCarthy’s picks, saying their public comments suggested they had already made up their mind.

However, Pelosi had already appointed Rep. Liz Cheney to the committee and at the weekend added a second Republican, Adam Kinzinger. 

They were the only two House Republicans to vote in favor of establishing the panel.

Schiff said the party remained in thrall to Trumpc, which had led to Cheney’s removal from a leadership position.   

‘And not for anything having to do with the select committee but because she refused to carry the president’s big lie about the election, and she was willing to speak candidly about January 6 and where she thinks the Republican Party ought to go,’ he said.

‘So the retribution began earlier. 

‘It wouldn’t surprise me if they did more, but it just shows how hollow that party has been, how much it has been hollowed out by the former president and it’s really more of a cult of his personality.’ 

As lead impeachment manager from Trump’s first impeachment, Schiff knows the difficulty in trying to get the former president to testify.

President Trump addressed thousands of supporters on Jan 6., urging them to march on the U.S. Capitol where the election results were being certified

In recent interviews Trump – like other Republicans – has played down the events of Jan 6. An ‘unfortunate event’ is how he described the riot recently

Then an obstructive Justice Department and loyal attorney general, in the form of Bill Barr, did not enforce contempt proceedings against uncooperative witnesses. 

But he said that would not stop them trying again to force Trump or McCarthy to give evidence.

‘Time will tell,’ he said.

‘But we’re gonna do everything we can, we’ll use the tools that we have.

‘those that refuse to testify, you know, the public will likely draw an adverse inference that their testimony would be incriminating. 

‘But we hope to get as much of this evidence in the public realm as we possibly can.’

With subpoenas, courts and contempt proceedings, Schiff said the committee would have a range of options if witnesses were not prepared to appear voluntarily.

‘I hope none of that’s necessary, and we’re obviously getting way ahead of ourselves. But there are a number of tools that we can use and of course we’ll explore what we need to to get the public answers,’ he said.

The former president has repeatedly offered his views about the events of Jan. 6 and has taken to playing down violence that saw hundreds of people arrested.

Talking to reporters recently at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, he referred to the riot as an ‘unfortunate event’ and tried to move the debate on to why one of the rioters was shot dead by a police officer

McCarthy could also be a witness to answer questions about the phone call he made to Trump asking the president to call on his supporters to go home.