. @RepMattGaetz : " @RepAdamSchiff has gone from someone with oversight responsibilities to an actual principal in this investigation...For better objectivity, he ought to step aside." #Tucker https://t.co/6dGH5S9fQL pic.twitter.com/fVsss2GMu2

Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) argued Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, should step aside from his committee’s investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Gaetz described Schiff apparently being duped by a prankster that was offering naked pictures of President Donald Trump as “playing footsies with the Ukrainians,” which Gaetz suggested had compromised Schiff’s objectivity.

“Adam Schiff should step aside as the lead Democrat on the Intelligence Committee as a consequence of this scandal,” Gaetz said. “While our FBI and Justice Department were suffering through an ‘Obama-nation,’ an Obama influence — with these attempts to influence the investigations, you had Adam Schiff off playing footsies with the Ukrainians trying to get naked pictures of Donald Trump. Adam Schiff has gone from someone with oversight responsibilities to an actual principal in this investigation, engaging with the Ukrainians. And I think for better objectivity, he ought to step aside.”

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor