Senator Adam Schiff on How the Trump Administration Targets Its Opponents

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

The New Yorker

Politics, Obama, News, Wnyc, Washington, Barack, President, Lizza, Wickenden

4.2 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As a California congressman, Adam Schiff was the lead manager during the first impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. He later served on the January 6th committee. Trump has castigated him as “Shifty Schiff” and demanded that the Justice Department investigate him. In a conversation with David Remnick, Schiff discusses the current inquiry into his mortgage by federal authorities; the Supreme Court’s primary role in enabling this Administration; and why he thinks the rule of law in America is “hanging by a thread.” Unlike some Democrats, Schiff is not sanguine that the release of the Epstein files will damage Trump politically. “If there are ruinous things in the files . . . Bondi and company will make sure they never reach the public eye,” Schiff says. But also, “I think he’s almost impervious to dirt.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the political scene.
0:07.0	I'm David Remnick.
0:08.4	Early each week, we bring you a conversation from our episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour.
0:15.9	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:26.2	Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Donald Trump's enemies list is long
0:31.9	and it's wide. Journalists, pop stars, late night hosts, even his own architect, apparently, for the White House
0:38.8	ballroom. And of course, Democrats, pretty much all of them at one time or another, but few public
0:44.8	figures infuriate Donald Trump more than California Senator Adam Schiff. I would just say,
0:52.7	Adam Schiff is one of the lowest forms of scum I've ever dealt with in politics.
0:58.1	He's a horrible human being, a very dishonest person.
1:02.2	The administration announced an investigation of Schiff for mortgage fraud not long ago,
1:06.9	and now confusingly, the Justice Department is investigating the handling of that investigation.
1:13.4	So, what did Adam Schiff do to get that prominent place on the enemy's list?
1:18.9	When he was a congressman from a district around Los Angeles, Schiff was a leader of the first
1:23.4	impeachment proceeding. You remember what that was. That was all about Trump's so-called perfect phone
1:28.7	call with Ukrainian officials when he asked them to dig up dirt on Hunter Biden. And later,
1:35.2	Adam Schiff was a member of the House Committee that investigated the January 6th insurrection,
1:39.7	and that inquiry brought much to light about Trump's role in those events.
1:49.8	So Adam Schiff has been one of Trump's most persistent critics when it comes to the rule of law.
1:54.5	And Trump, as a way of rewarding him, expresses his disdain by calling him pencil neck, watermelon head, and of course, Shifty Schiff.
2:00.0	For our purposes, we'll stick with Senator.
2:04.7	The President of the United States seems to really dislike you. Yeah. Why? He spends an in-ordid amount
	...

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