Ratcliffe: Democrats 'racing' to beat disclosure that 'damages the Obama-Biden administration' Washington Examiner, Nov 17, 2019
Democratic leaders are rushing through impeachment proceedings to beat out a potentially scathing revelation about the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation, according to a House Intelligence Committee Republican.
Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe said Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's forthcoming report on FBI intelligence-gathering activities is "likely to be damning" in how it reflects upon the Obama administration, and by extension former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
"Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff are racing to get this done," the Texas congressman said on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures, referring to the House speaker and House Intelligence Committee chairman, respectively. "That’s why we have five impeachment hearings this week with eight different witnesses. They’re racing the clock. They want to get this done before information that comes out that damages the Obama-Biden administration and their efforts to frame Donald Trump come out in the IG report or from John Durham’s criminal investigation into those very same issues."
The long-awaited report is eagerly anticipated by President Trump's GOP allies, who claim Horowitz's findings will show top Justice Department and FBI officials misled the FISA Court by using an unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele to obtain warrants to electronically monitor onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Horowitz's findings could be useful for U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a criminal inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation.