Adam Schiff, The Surprising Face Of The Impeachment Inquiry Into President Trump

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Adam Schiff, The Surprising Face Of The Impeachment Inquiry Into President Trump

Adam and Eve Schiff Played Tennis Together, Married Five Years Later

By Domenico Montanaro

Adam Schiff has been a ubiquitous media presence criticizing President Trump. Trump, an omnivorous television news consumer, has returned the favor, tweeting disparaging comments about (Liddle') Schiff. (and worse.)

But, beyond that, the California Democrat and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has had something of an unlikely path to becoming the face of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry and, in turn, the Democratic Resistance.

So here are some things to know:

1. A political career spurred on by ... impeachment

His congressional district, California's 28th, includes Hollywood. It's heavily liberal — Hillary Clinton won 72% here in 2016. But it wasn't always so pro-Democratic. In fact, Schiff got into Congress, ironically, by defeating a Republican, Jim Rogan, who was a staunch critic of Bill Clinton and spoke out against Clinton during his impeachment.

Schiff was able to leverage Clinton's impeachment for his gain, as Clinton friend and entertainment mogul David Geffen promised to help raise millions to unseat Rogan. He got help from movie director Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, former chairman of Disney Studios. At the same time, Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner took Rogan's side. The result? The 2000 race became the most expensive in history, at that time, with more than $10 million raised between the two. Schiff won 53%-44%, and has since not gotten less than 63% of the vote.

2. He voted for the Iraq war authorization and the Patriot Act

Schiff had just ousted an incumbent Republican, so what did he do when he went to Congress? He joined the Blue Dog Democrats, a group for moderate and conservative Democratic members on Capitol Hill. So he didn't always have this liberal reputation.

In fact, he supported the 2002 authorization for use of force in Iraq and voted for the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act expanded law enforcement's ability to surveil Americans with the goal of preventing more terrorist attacks. But the privacy infringements outraged civil libertarians. Schiff grew more traditionally liberal, as his district did.

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