The following is a transcript of an interview with Democrat Representative Adam Schiff of California that aired on Sunday, March 6, 2022 on “Face the Nation.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to FACE THE NATION. Now we want to go to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff. She is a Democrat from California and joins us from the Los Angeles area. Good morning to you.
REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SCHIFF: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to start with Ukraine. The United States buys about 600,000 barrels of Russian oil products a day. Pelosi said oil should be banned. The White House says it is looking for options. What is this option? Is there a resolution in Congress or is it something President Biden should act on?
CZECH REP. SCHIFF: I think it could come from anywhere. I think there is very strong bipartisan support for cutting Russian oil and gas sales in the United States. I think it’s an anathema to many of us in Congress that while we were sanctioning them and trying to paralyze their economy in this way would help them in any way by buying their oil. But I think the administration wants to make sure we work with our allies. This will potentially have an impact on world oil prices, including at home, where in Los Angeles gas now exceeds $ 5 a gallon. Therefore, we want to make sure that we understand the impact on global supply. But I think there is strong support to show solidarity with Ukraine, but also to make sure that the US dollars do not support the Russian war machine in any way.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How fast is this going to happen? I mean, this is Putin’s lifeline. She is a cow of money.
CZECH REP. SCHIFF: Well, I think we like to act really fast. At the same time, you know, we have to be careful that Russia will probably find another place to sell this oil and gas. Therefore, the ultimate impact on Russia may not be as strong as we would like. That is why we must continue to explore additional ways to really crush the Russian economy. But I must say that I am very impressed with how the world has come together with how here in Congress, in a very partisan Congress, Democrats and Republicans are coming together around this package of harsh sanctions, in addition to providing a more defensive military support in Ukraine. . There is a huge solidarity with the brave people of Ukraine.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There is solidarity, but it seems that Vladimir Putin is willing to suffer the consequences of these sanctions. And the Russian people are, the army does not stop their advance, at least we see that. What if, as President Zelensky predicts that he loses his life in this Russian attack, what will the United States do then?
CZECH REP. SCHIFF: Well, I think he’s been an incredibly brave wartime leader. This was, I think, another miscalculation of Putin, who believes that Zelensky was weak, he would not be able to lead a country to war. But in fact, it has proven to be hugely strong and not only brought Ukrainians together, but I think it brought people from all over the world together. I do not want to see what can happen in their absence, although I believe that the Ukrainian people will continue to fight and we will continue to support them. But obviously we are doing everything we can, providing, I think, real-time intelligence to help protect it, as well as to give Ukrainians the information they need to defend themselves.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The United States and the world powers, as we spoke with Secretary Blinken, are potentially on the cusp of a new diplomatic deal with Iran, a renewed version of this nuclear program if the Biden administration does so. present to Congress for review? Want to take a look?
CZECH REP. SCHIFF: Well, I’m sure I’ll want to look at it and study it and evaluate its merits. I think, ultimately, it will be a question of re-entering the agreement from which the Trump administration took America out or if it is substantially different: a new and different agreement. If it is the latter, I think it will take a vote in Congress. If-yes is the first, then the administration can do it by itself. All in all, I think the decision to retire was disastrous. Iran has made progress both in terms of its enrichment and in terms of its experience. And finally, we will have to weigh the impact of this on any new agreement.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You are the president of intelligence, you know, well, Iran’s espionage activities and the operations they have tried to carry out on American soil, including this attempt to kidnap a journalist based in New York. There are also threats against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump officials. Should this new agreement with Iran include the promise to stop conducting such operations on US soil?
CZECH REP. SCHIFF: Well, I would love a nuclear deal that would include bans on Iran’s evil activities, a cessation of its missile and drone program. But the question is not what I would like, but whether an agreement that is limited to curbing Iran’s ability to get a bomb is a good deal. And I think if we can get off the table, any road to a bomb for a year, for Iran, that’s in itself worth it. These other malicious activities in Iran, their plots against U.S. personnel or Americans around the world, can and should be dealt with separately, and we should deal with them aggressively. But I wouldn’t say we should put aside its nuclear program because of these other activities. We have to go after all this, not necessarily in a single agreement.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Before I let you go, I want to ask about the January 6 committee. There has been some news this week, a court document stating that there is now evidence that President Trump broke the law in his efforts to cancel the 2020 election. Do you think the attorney general is moving fast enough? with your application?
CZECH REP. SCHIFF: What we made clear in our court presentation is that we believe there is a basis in good faith to conclude that the former president and his campaign may have violated many federal laws, including obstructing a proceeding. official, the joint session and the scam. the American people. And I think the Department of Justice should study these issues and should investigate in particular just to put a very graphic example of the former president on the phone with the Secretary of State in Georgia demanding that he find 11,780 votes no , but the exact number he would need to surpass President Biden. I think if anyone else had been involved in this conversation, I would be under investigation and it should not be any different for the former president. Therefore, I believe that the department is diligently pursuing those who attack the Capitol that day. But there were multiple lines of effort to overturn the election that could have violated the law, which should also be investigated.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All right. Presidency, thank you for your time this morning. We will be back soon.
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