Who is Adam Schiff? What to know about the Democrat and his Twitter war with Trump - Fox News

24/2/2018

Who is Adam Schiff? What to know about the Democrat and his Twitter war with Trump

By Jennifer Earl | Fox News

Schiff swings back at Trump in Twitter war over memo

Kevin Corke reports from the White House on the war of words between the president and ranking Democrat.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has been leading the charge against the GOP's memo, calling it a "political hit job" on the FBI.

"If the memo was really about oversight, committee members would want to read the underlying documents and bring in the FBI. Republicans voted against both," Schiff tweeted on Feb. 4, two days after the panel released the "surveillance" memo.

The four-page memo, released by the House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., on Feb. 2 claimed the infamous Trump dossier "formed an essential part" of applications by the FBI and Justice Department to spy on onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Schiff has called the Republicans' memo "shoddy" and "misleading," claiming it was released only to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

"The president’s decision to publicly release a misleading memo attacking DOJ & FBI is a transparent attempt to discredit these institutions," Schiff added. "We'll fight to release our classified response."

Schiff requested the committee release Democratic members’ own 10-page memo, with the promise to send it to the Justice Department for redactions -- and the committee did just that on Feb. 24.

In a statement, Schiff said the Democratic memo should "put to rest" any concerns about conduct by the intelligence agencies.

"Our extensive review of the initial FISA application and three subsequent renewals failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead revealed that both the FBI and DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests," Schiff said.

@RepAdamSchiff

Some time ago, Republicans on our committee released a declassified memo that omitted and distorted key facts in order to mislead the public and impugn the integrity of the FBI.

We can now tell you what they left out: https://democrats-intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=358 …

8:39 AM - Feb 25, 2018

Intel Committee Ranking Member Schiff Releases Democratic Response Memo

democrats-intelligence.house.gov

The memo's release comes after the White House told Democratic lawmakers that the memo required certain redactions before it could be made public.

"The Democrats sent a very political and long response memo which they knew, because of sources and methods (and more), would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency. Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!" Trump tweeted after the rubuttal's release was halted earlier this month.

@realDonaldTrump

The Democrats sent a very political and long response memo which they knew, because of sources and methods (and more), would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency. Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!

1:20 AM - Feb 11, 2018

Here's what you need to know about Schiff, his notable career moves and his recent Twitter exchanges with the president.

Who is Adam Schiff?

As a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff started his career in law. He spent six years working in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

@RepAdamSchiff

Mr. President, what you call “political” are actually called facts, and your concern for sources and methods would be more convincing if you hadn’t decided to release the GOP memo (“100%”) before reading it and over the objections of the FBI. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/962330457886076928 …

4:19 AM - Feb 11, 2018

During his time as assistant U.S. attorney, Schiff prosecuted the first FBI agent ever to be convicted of espionage for passing secret documents to the Soviets.

"This is a betrayal tinged with hypocrisy," Schiff said at the trial for former FBI agent Richard Miller, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, The New York Times reported. "We have here an agent who did just exactly what he was supposed to protect against."

Rep. Adam Schiff, D. Calif., has been vocal about his objections to the GOP memo released on Feb. 2. (Handout)

Eventually, Schiff moved on to politics.

He was elected to the California State Senate in 1996, serving four terms before heading to the House of Representatives. The Democrat has been serving in Congress since 2001.

In recent years, Schiff has shifted his focus to foreign policy and national security. He now sits as a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee and was a member of the Benghazi Select Committee, according to a biography on his official website.

Schiff's reaction to the FISA memo

Schiff recently said he believed the White House may have been behind the memo in an attempt to interfere with the Russia probe.

"I think it’s very possible his staff worked with the White House and coordinated the whole effort with the White House," Schiff said in an interview with ABC's "This Week."

The president said the memo completely "vindicates" him in the Russia investigation, though he said the "Russian witch hunt" would most likely continue.

"There was no collusion and there was no obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead)," Trump tweeted on Feb. 2. "This is an American disgrace!"

But Schiff said, while misleading, the memo was proof there was collusion with the Russians.

"Quite the opposite, Mr. President," Schiff replied on Twitter. "The most important fact disclosed in this otherwise shoddy memo was that FBI investigation began July 2016 with your advisor, Papadopoulos, who was secretly discussing stolen Clinton emails with the Russians."

Schiff versus Trump: The Twitter war continues

@realDonaldTrump

This memo totally vindicates “Trump” in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their was no Collusion and there was no Obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead). This is an American disgrace!

1:40 AM - Feb 4, 2018

Trump targeted "Little Adam Schiff" on Feb. 5, calling him one of the "biggest liars and leakers in Washington," as both parties continued to argue over the newly released FISA memo.

"Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper!" Trump tweeted. "Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!"

Within minutes, Schiff fired back, tweeting: "Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of 'Executive Time.' Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or...really anything else."

Trump's tweet came shortly before Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told "Fox & Friends" that there have been "almost 100 leaks" by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee related to the Russia investigation.

Trump's tweet also reflected frustration with a host of figures, including Schiff's Senate counterpart – Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who sits as ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which conducted its own Russia probe. He also named former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

@realDonaldTrump

Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper! Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!

11:39 PM - Feb 5, 2018

Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

@RepAdamSchiff

Mr. President, I see you’ve had a busy morning of “Executive Time.” Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or...really anything else. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/960492998734868480 …

12:58 AM - Feb 6, 2018

Buffett Warns Investors That Safe-Looking Bonds Can Be Risky - Bloomberg

Buffett Warns Investors That Safe-Looking Bonds Can Be Risky

February 24, 2018, 11:56 PM GMT+11 Updated on February 25, 2018, 2:47 AM GMT+11

Billionaire says company needs to make one or more huge deals

Berkshire CEO comments on market lessons in annual letter

Warren Buffett Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Sometimes the best lessons are worth repeating.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett used his widely-read annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders on Saturday to again call out the wasteful fees that many money managers charge. He highlighted the risk of bonds and emphasized the importance of sticking with a simple investment strategy.

“Performance comes, performance goes,” Buffett wrote. “Fees never falter.”

The letter was notably shorter than in years past, at 17 pages versus 29 in the 2016 version, and didn’t include commentary on some of the company’s largest stock holdings.

Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer at Berkshire, meditated on what he thinks people should take away from his charitable bet against Protege Partners. He challenged the asset manager to pick a group of hedge funds that it thought would beat an S&P 500 Index fund over 10 years. When the wager concluded on Dec. 31, the index fund had won easily.

Buffett also drew a lesson from a tweak he and Protege made to the bet. Five years in, the two parties took the wagered amount out of Treasury bonds after yields fell and put it in shares of Berkshire. That led to Buffett’s charity getting more than double the promised $1 million, and bolstered his urging of investors to stick with stocks even though they can be riskier in the short-term.

‘Terrible Mistake’

“It is a terrible mistake for investors with long-term horizons -- among them, pension funds, college endowments and savings-minded individuals -- to measure their investment ‘risk’ by their portfolio’s ratio of bonds to stocks,” Buffett wrote. “Often, high-grade bonds in an investment portfolio increase its risk.”

Buffett’s advice to investors comes in a month when the U.S. equity market experienced its worst single-day plunge in almost seven years. He warned against using leverage to invest in stocks because it can accentuate panic during periods of volatility.

“There is simply no telling how far stocks can fall in a short period,” he wrote. “Even if your borrowings are small and your positions aren’t immediately threatened by the plunging market, your mind may well become rattled by scary headlines and breathless commentary. And an unsettled mind will not make good decisions.”

He also spent much of the letter explaining Berkshire’s results for 2017, which were aided by a huge gain on the recent U.S. tax overhaul. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate’s insurance businesses, however, posted a rare underwriting loss.

He discussed some of the challenges to finding large deals. Cash and cash equivalents have been piling up at Berkshire -- reaching $116 billion by year end -- but Buffett said most of the businesses he looked to buy last year were too expensive.

“We will need to make one or more huge acquisitions,” Buffett wrote. “Our smiles will broaden when we have redeployed Berkshire’s excess funds into more productive assets.”

Buffett wrote that his “one sensible” standalone deal last year was to buy a stake in the owner of the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain. And he couldn’t resist making a plug for the business.

“When driving on the Interstate, drop in," he encouraged shareholders in the letter. “PFJ sells gasoline as well as diesel fuel, and the food is good. If it’s been a long day, remember, too, that our properties have 5,200 showers.”

Succession Planning

Buffett wrote the company’s goal is to increase earnings of its businesses outside of insurance through acquisitions. That side of the company is now run by Greg Abel, who was promoted in January to oversee those subsidiaries within the conglomerate. At the same time, Buffett put another longtime Berkshire executive, Ajit Jain, in charge of insurance operations. Both were also appointed to the board as part of a move toward succession planning.

“You and I are lucky to have Ajit and Greg working for us,” Buffett told shareholders in the letter. “Each has been with Berkshire for decades, and Berkshire’s blood flows through their veins. The character of each man matches his talents. And that says it all.”

The 87-year old reiterated that while he’s “never felt better,” the company has a plan in the works for when he’s no longer running it.

“Our directors know my recommendations,” he wrote. “All candidates currently work for or are available to Berkshire and are people in whom I have total confidence.”

— With assistance by Vincent Bielski, and Luke Kawa

Democratic rebuttal to GOP FISA memo sparks reactions from politicians - Fox News

24/2/2018

Democratic rebuttal to GOP FISA memo sparks reactions from politicians

By Elizabeth Zwirz | Fox News

Democrats' FISA memo released by House Intel Committee

Democrats' response to the Republicans' memo regarding possible FISA abuses is released with redactions; Catherine Herridge discusses initial takeaways from the document.

The House Intelligence Committee on Saturday released a long-anticipated Democratic rebuttal that attempts to dismantle claims made in a GOP memo alleging the government used improper surveillance tactics during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The rebuttal claims that officials at the FBI and Justice Department “did not abuse the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, omit material information, or subvert this vital tool to spy on the Trump campaign.”

The Democratic rebuttal backed the FBI and DOJ in its pursuit of the FISA warrant, saying that the agencies “would have been remiss in their duty to protect the country had they not sought a FISA warrant and repeated renewals to conduct temporary surveillance of Carter Page, someone the FBI assessed to be an agent of the Russian government.”

They added that the DOJ met the “rigor, transparency, and evidentiary basis” needed to meet FISA’s probable cause requirement.

The GOP memo, released in early February, asserted that the FBI and DOJ relied on a Democrat-funded anti-Trump dossier to ask the FISA court for a warrant to monitor Page, a one-time adviser to President Donald Trump. They also claimed that the agencies left out the DNC’s funding of the dossier and the anti-Trump motivations of author Christopher Steele, a onetime British spy, in its request for a warrant.

The Democratic memo was voted out of committee earlier this month but a redrafting was ordered after the White House demanded that sensitive information be stripped out before the document be made public. The Justice Department and FBI claimed the initial draft would reveal information about sources and methods, ongoing investigations and other sensitive information.

President Trump tweeted following the rebuttal memo's release, calling it "a total political and legal BUST."

@realDonaldTrump

The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST. Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!

10:16 AM - Feb 25, 2018

He added: "Dem Memo: FBI did no disclose who the client were - the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!"

@realDonaldTrump

Dem Memo: FBI did not disclose who the clients were - the Clinton Campaign and the DNC. Wow!

10:20 AM - Feb 25, 2018

Here are some other reactions to the memo:

White House

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders calls the rebuttal a “politically driven document” which “fails to answer serious concerns raised by the Majority’s memorandum about the use of partisan opposition research from one candidate, loaded with uncorroborated allegations, as a basis to ask a court to approve surveillance of a former associate of another candidate, at the height of a presidential campaign.”

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Ranking Democrat Adam Schiff, who spearheaded the rebuttal's release, said it should "put to rest" any concerns about conduct by the intelligence agencies. Along with a copy of the memo, he tweeted Saturday: "Some time ago, Republicans on our committee released a declassified memo that omitted and distorted key facts in order to mislead the public and impugn the integrity of the FBI. We can now tell you what they left out."

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, D-Calif., who spearheaded the release of the GOP memo, said in a statement that Americans "now clearly understand that the FBI used political dirt pair for the by Democratic Party to spy on an American citizen from the Republican Party."

"Furthermore, the FISA court was misled about Mr. Page's past interactions with the FBI in which he helped build a case against Russian operatives in America who were brought to justice," Nunes said. "It defies belief that the Department of Justice and the FBI failed to provide information to a secret court that they had provided to an open federal court regarding their past interactions with Mr. Page."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., tweeted that "the Schiff memo is a well-considered rebuttal to the misinformation in the Nunes memo," which she added, "shouldn't have seen the light of day."

@SenFeinstein

Replying to @SenFeinstein

The Schiff memo is a well-considered rebuttal to the misinformation in the Nunes memo. As I said when it was released, the Nunes memo was an attempt to undermine the Steele dossier and Robert Mueller’s investigation, and it shouldn’t have seen the light of day.

@SenFeinstein

Russian interference in our elections cannot be condoned. We all need to know what happened in 2016 and what actions Russia continues to take today. Robert Mueller’s investigation must proceed unhindered, and rebutting the misleading Nunes memo is a step toward that goal.

9:15 AM - Feb 25, 2018

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Democratic memo indicated "that Chairman Nunes cherry-picked and distorted information from sensitive inteligence to sow discord and undermine" the FBI.

"By initially delaying the release of hte memo, the president purposefully silenced any Democratic rebuttal to the fabricated conspiracy theories pushed by Chairman Nunes," he added. "Obviously, there is something the president is afraid of."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a statement said the Democratic response "helps set the record straight on Republicans' attempts to obstruct the investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal."

@NancyPelosi

The release of the House Intelligence Committee Democrats’ memo helps set the record straight on Republicans’ attempts to obstruct the investigation into the Trump-Russia scandal.

@NancyPelosi

Republicans must end their political charades, & the Congress must finally come together to #FollowTheFacts & #ProtectOurDemocracy. Read my full statement here: https://goo.gl/YEVX9b

9:51 AM - Feb 25, 2018

Pelosi Statement on Release of House Intelligence Committee Democrats’ Memo - Democratic Leader...

San Francisco – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the Trump Administration redacted and declassified a memo authored by House Intelligence Committee Democrats, after weeks of...

democraticleader.gov

She added that it was "imperative" for lawmakers on the other side of the aisle to "end their political charades" and said Congress needed to "take real action to investigate the Russian attacks on our democracy."

Fox News' Adam Shaw, Madeline Farber and Kaitlyn Scallhorn contributed to this report.