When wrongdoing by Democrats is discussed, the media like to call charges against them "conspiracy theories," implying that crazed partisans are imagining phony connections where none in fact exists. But when people with no visible connection with each other work together in secret to accomplish some goal and then lie about their collaboration, the dreaded word "conspiracy" becomes completely appropriate.

And that's what the charges that Nancy Pelosi tasked Adam Schiff's House Intelligence Committee (and five other House committees) with investigating, with an eye toward impeaching President Trump, now look like: a conspiracy including one or more Deep State operatives within the White House who acted as spies on a confidential conversation between two heads of state, and a separate intelligence officer who composed a "whistleblower" complaint with the help of Schiff's staffers and a lawyer or lawyers unknown.

Adam Schiff has repeatedly lied to the media and American people by claiming that "we" (he and his staff) had no contact with the "whistleblower" before the complaint was filed. Schiff went on MSNBC on September 17 and flat-out lied:

SAM STEIN: Hey, Congressman, a couple questions here on this whistleblower front. First off, have you heard from the whistleblower? Are you — do you want to hear from the whistleblower? What protections could you provide to the whistleblower? And then you also said that the DNI's refusing to turn over the stuff, citing a request from a higher authority. The insinuation left at least for me and others was that the president himself had intervened. Is that the insinuation you sought to provide and, if so, what basis do you have for making that insinuation? REP. ADAM SCHIFF: We have not spoken directly with the whistleblower. We would like to. But I'm sure the whistleblower has concerns that he has not been advised, as the law requires, by the Inspector General or the Director of National Intelligence just as to how he is to communicate with Congress. So the risk for the whistleblower is retaliation. Will the whistleblower be protected under the statute if the offices that are supposed to come to his assistance and provide the mechanism are unwilling do so. But, yes, we would love to talk directly with the whistleblower.

Caught in a blatant lie, Schiff's staff offered a weasely claim to Stein that it was all a misunderstanding:

House Intel committee official on Chairman Schiff’s earlier comments to me that he had not talked to the whistleblower: "The Chairman could have been more clear – he was referring to the Committee officially interviewing the whistleblower, and himself personally." — Sam Stein (@samstein) October 2, 2019

That is just pathetic. Schiff has denied any connection multiple times, not just once. He was concealing the fact that purportedly unrelated parties were working together. That's the definition of conspirators.

At this point, Nancy Pelosi has to be regretting choosing Schiff as the point man in impeaching Trump and conducting a joint press conference with him a couple of hours before the story exploded.

Image credit: Donkey Hotey (cropped).