Pasadena Congressman Sworn In as Chairman U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has named Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), whose district includes a portion of West Pasadena, as Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which is charged with the oversight of the country’s intelligence community.
“I am deeply grateful to Speaker Pelosi for asking me to serve in that capacity, and for her confidence in me to serve as the Committee’s Chairman at such a momentous time in our national life,” Schiff said in a statement.
Schiff has been one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest critics since Trump’s inauguration. He has served on the Select Committee on Intelligence for the last decade, the last four years as a Ranking Member. He was sworn in as chair last Friday.
Schiff, a former federal prosecutor, said he looks forward to an invigorated committee that will both provide guidance and authorization for the intelligence community, while “rebuilding internal comity and strengthening the relationship between the Congress and the intelligence community.”
He described the enormity of the committee’s role in overseeing 17 different agencies and investigating the “Russian attack on our democracy,’ with the last two years being difficult.
“But even in the darkest times, we have come together to pass significant legislation that both protects our national security, as well as our privacy and civil liberties, and conducts rigorous oversight,” he said.
A report in the Los Angeles Times Monday quoted Schiff as saying Democrats will be looking into Trump’s private business deals if Special Counsel Robert Mueller opted not to investigate those matters.
The committee’s probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election was abruptly closed by the Republican majority who proclaimed there was no collusion between members of the Trump election campaign and the Russians.
Schiff and other Democrats insisted the investigation overlooked a number of important documents, and did not call several potential witnesses.