Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, says Americans should be wary of President Donald Trump’s use of the word “fake.”
On CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, host Jake Tapper asked Schiff if Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) was attempting to distract from the Russia investigation with claims that members of Trump’s transition team were subjects of “incidental” collection during routine surveillance targeting suspected foreign spies.
“I would tell people, whenever they see the president use the word ‘fake,’ it ought to set off alarm bells,” Schiff told Tapper, suggesting the president’s tweets signal where there’s real controversy.
“[Trump’s] tweets tell the story, and the story is ‘Look over there at leaks,’ and ‘Look over there at anything the Obama administration, we can claim, did wrong on incidental collection or anything else ― but whatever you do, under no circumstances look here at me or at Russia,’” Schiff continued. “I think that’s really what’s going on.”
Trump has repeatedly suggested that leaks from within his administration are the biggest problem he’s faced as president. He tweeted about “leakers” Sunday morning:
