Schiff pushes back on reported tension between Cheney, Jan. 6 panel staffers

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the House Jan. 6 panel investigating the Capitol riot on Sunday pushed back on a Washington Post report suggesting tensions between committee staffers and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the panel’s vice chair.

The Post, citing interviews with 15 anonymous former and current committee staffers, reported on Wednesday that the staffers became angered by Cheney’s efforts to focus the panel’s final report on former President Trump, believing it would leave out other key elements of the committee’s work.

“No, I mean at least I certainly hope not,” Schiff told co-anchor Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked if the story was true.

The Post indicated the staffers want to also focus the report on security and intelligence failures leading up to the Capitol attack.

“I would like to see a report be as broad and inclusive as possible,” Schiff said. “We are discussing as a committee among the members, what belongs in the body of the report, what belongs in the appendices of the report, what is beyond the scope of our investigation. And we’ll reach those decisions in a collaborative manner.”

The Post’s report indicates the staffers view the Trump push as positioning the panel as a vehicle for Cheney’s political future, including a potential presidential campaign.

“I’ve never viewed it that way, and I think her role on the committee has been indispensable,” Schiff pushed back on CNN when asked about the allegation.

The California Democrat on Sunday noted that the committee also plans to release documents it received during the investigation and the transcripts of its hundreds of interviews.

After a series of public hearings, the panel’s report is expected to be released in the coming weeks as the committee wraps up its work before the GOP takes control of the House.

“I don’t think the back and forth is particularly helpful for the committee and I don’t want to engage you in it,” Schiff told Bash.

“We’re going to get to a consensus on the report, we’re very close to that now,” Schiff continued. “We’re close to putting down the pen and going to print. And I think the report is going to set out in, I hope, a very comprehensive way what took place, what led to that attack and all the circumstances around that.”