Congress Schiff: Mueller testimony emboldened impeachment backers, but 'I'm not there yet'

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said Thursday that former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony a day earlier likely emboldened advocates of impeaching President Donald Trump, but the Democrat said he isn't convinced that it's worth it to put the country through such a "momentous and disruptive experience."

On CNN’s “New Day,” Schiff swatted away concerns that Mueller’s performance, which lacked any bombshell moments, was an impediment to Democrats’ investigative efforts, emphasizing the “substance” of the former special counsel’s testimony was “just devastating.”


“Should we put the country through an impeachment?" Schiff said. "I haven't been convinced yet that we should, and going through that kind of momentous and disruptive experience for the country, I think, is not something we go into lightly.”

Mueller on Wednesday largely stuck to the confines of his report — which looked at Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, whether any of Trump's associates aided that effort and whether the president sought to obstruct the investigation — and did not produce the kind of made-for-TV moments many pro-impeachment Democrats had wanted. His testimony was punctuated by curt answers, and the former FBI director deflected many questions and stumbled over others.

“Yes, you know, the halting nature of his answers made questioning him a challenge,” the congressman said. “As a former prosecutor, it meant that, you know, you take each witness as they come, and it meant it wasn't easy to get him to tell a narrative.”

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Still, he said, “I think those ready to pull the trigger and say, 'Let’s begin the impeachment,' feel their hand is even stronger after this hearing.”

Schiff declined to discuss what members of the caucus said in a huddle after Wednesday’s marathon hearings. POLITICO reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rebuffed House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler's suggestion that committee chiefs begin drafting articles of impeachment.

Schiff, like Pelosi, has said impeachment would be divisive for the country, so Democrats would need to make the strongest case possible. If the House were to impeach Trump, the effort would likely die in the GOP-controlled Senate and would not result in Trump's removal from office.

The questions Democrats must consider, Schiff said, are: "'Can we make the case to the country?' And, 'Does the country benefit going through an impeachment if it's going to be unsuccessful?' And we know in the Senate, at least, it would be unsuccessful. So, I'm not there yet, but I'm keeping an open mind, and I may get there.

“But we do need to be realistic,” he said. "The only way he’s leaving office, at least at this point, is by being voted out."

