I’m not surprised that House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff of California is hiring former members of the National Security Council to be on his investigatory staff. After all, his predecessor Devin Nunes did the same thing last September when he scooped up Derek Harvey after his dismissal by then-National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. For the record, Chairman Schiff denies that he’s hired anyone who was currently working inside the administration, although he does not deny that some of his hires may have worked with them at some point.
What actually does surprise me, however, is that the president is so exercised about Schiff’s hiring practices that he felt compelled to tweet about them.
….The Dems and their committees are going “nuts.” The Republicans never did this to President Obama, there would be no time left to run government. I hear other committee heads will do the same thing. Even stealing people who work at White House! A continuation of Witch Hunt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2019
I guess Trump is worried that people with inside firsthand knowledge of his national security operation might add a little extra oomph to the inquiries into his odd and solicitous behavior toward foreign powers like Russia and Saudi Arabia. As for Schiff, he simply responded, “If the President is worried about our hiring any former administration people, maybe he should work on being a better employer.”
Again, I can see why this discomforts the president but I have a hard time understanding why he wants everyone to know that it discomforts him.
If I had to guess, he thinks it feeds the narrative that the Deep State is out to get him. In reality, it actually just makes him look guilty and scared.
