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(CNSNews.com) - The Democrats' long-running impeachment inquiry moves from the House intelligence committee to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, and yes, Judiciary Committee Republicans do plan to call witnesses, Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), the ranking member, told "Fox News Sunday."

"The first person that needs to testify is Adam Schiff," Collins said.

Adam Schiff is author of this (House intelligence committee) report. Adam Schiff has been the author of many things -- a lot of them found to be false over the last couple of years. But he's going to be the author of this report. He's compared himself in the past to a special counsel. This is what he said he was doing. Well, and if we go back the Clinton and -- back to Nixon and Clinton, Ken Starr was a special counsel. He presented a report that we're going to get in the Judiciary -- he actually came and sat and testified under oath and took questions from all sides, including the White House. My first and foremost witness is Adam Schiff.

Wallace asked if Republicans want to cross-examine Schiff about his office's early contact with the so-called whistleblower:

Schiff "needs to be" questioned, Collins said:

"He's put himself into that position. If he chooses not to, then I really question his veracity and what he's putting in his report...the motives of (why) he's doing it.

"It's easy to hide behind a report. It's easy to hide behind a gavel and intelligence committee and behind closed-door hearings, but it's going to be another thing to actually get up and have to answer questions about what his staff knew, how he knew, what he know about the whistle-blower, or his interactions he's had with Ukraine, the other things that he's had over time in this process."

Collins said Judiciary Chairman Nadler has asked committee Republicans to present their witness list by Friday, but Republicans haven't even seen the Democrats' report that will recommend impeachment.

As for President Trump's July 25th phone call President Zelensky, Collins said Trump "did nothing improper."

"There was nothing...problematic (about) giving aid to another country in which you're talking about corruption, which he's required to do by law, and it just so happens that a presidential candidate's son who is getting a massive amount of money from a company that had been under investigation, in which even other witnesses that had been favorable, quote, to the Democrats in the investigation have said needed to be looked at.

"This is a problem of overall proportion but there's nothing here that the president did wrong and this is the thing that we're going to move forward on."









