LA Democrat on Benghazi Committee ‘Marvels at’ Hillary Clinton, Slams ‘Overreaching’ GOP

Republicans “were hoping to wear the secretary down and achieve some ‘gotcha’ moment,” Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff tells TheWrap

Adam Schiff
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Hollywood Democrats anxiously watching Hillary Clinton’s 11-hour marathon testimony before the House Benghazi committee on Thursday have a new hero: Rep. Adam Schiff of California’s 28th District in Los Angeles County.

And Schiff, a eight-term Democrat, still has some choice words for his Republican colleagues who grilled the former secretary of state about her handling of the 2012 attacks on the American diplomatic compound in the Libyan port city.

“They were hoping to wear the secretary down and achieve some ‘gotcha’ moment that could be endlessly replayed during the presidential campaign,” he told TheWrap on Friday. “The other thing they were trying to do is challenge or denigrate the secretary and she did not give them that opportunity.”

TheWrap spoke Schiff about Clinton’s performance, whether or not Democrats will boycott the investigation, and why he was forced to sing “Meet the Mets” on the House floor despite being an avid Dodgers fan.

Eleven hours… that’s a new record. What did you think of Secretary Clinton’s testimony yesterday?
It was a long, grueling day. But I have to say, I marvel at the stamina that the secretary demonstrated. It’s one thing to be asking questions for 11 hours. It’s another thing to be answering them. She remained presidential and substantive throughout. It was quite an impressive performance.

By all accounts, Clinton held her own during the probe. What happens now?
The investigation has gone on now 17 months. We have nothing new to tell the families of those who were lost, nothing new to tell the American people. I suspect that [Republicans] will feel obligated to go through the motions of additional hearings to try and dispel the idea that this was all what they were interested in. They canceled everything else at this point. I think they’ll be really grasping for a reason to go on.

You and your Democratic colleagues on the panel have been criticized for participating and giving legitimacy to the investigation. Is there any talk today about possibly boycotting the panel?
When the probe was first formed, I was among those saying that Democrats should not participate and that we shouldn’t give it any legitimacy by our presence. I think it was important for us to be in the room. I shudder to think that all the misrepresentations of the transcripts and the emails that the secretary would have been subjected to if Democrats were not in the room to point out the fallacy of what my GOP colleagues were asserting. At this point, we’ve decided to continue to participate but we’ve also decided that at some point we may reconsider.

Salon called the panel a “bust,” saying that chairman Trey Gowdy “embarrassed” himself. When asked by reporters what new information was learned after 11 hours of questioning, he couldn’t name one thing. He’s been the face of this investigation. Is this the end of his political career?
The sense today on the Hill is that the GOP really overreached and that yesterday’s hearing, far from being the highlight that they were expecting, further cast the GOP in an even more negative light and enhanced the status of Secretary Clinton rather than diminishing it. It was a turning point and a body blow to the Republican leadership and the House which already has one of the lowest approval ratings in history. The Democratic members of the committee called to shut it down. I hope this is a mistake Congress never repeats.

Was there one particular thing that really angered you?
The belittling conduct of many of my colleagues as well as their very personal attacks on the secretary and insinuations based on no evidence. But what upset me the most is that we have corrupted an institution of Congress, its investigatory power and that abuse will haunt us for a very long time.

There’s a rumor you were forced to sing “Meet the Mets” on the House floor on Friday… something about losing a bet?
Yeah, I made I bet with New York Rep. Steve Israel in the Dodgers-Mets series. The loser had to wear a tie of the opposing team and had to extol the merits of the other team. I lost the bet. I made good on my commitment. It was torture, but I got through it.

Watch Rep. Schiff sing on the House floor here.

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