Adam Schiff, other Dems accuse Trump of 'witness intimidation' for tweeting about a witness while she testified

We've already gone from "quid pro quo" to bribery, and now Democrats' newest impeachment-related allegation against President Donald Trump is witness intimidation.

During the House Intelligence Committee's Friday morning open impeachment probe hearing with former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, chairman Adam Schiff paused the proceedings to read a tweet from the president criticizing the career diplomat.

"Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," Trump said. "She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors."

When asked to respond to her former boss, Yovanovitch said, "I don't think I have such powers, not in Mogadishu, Somalia, and not in other places. I actually think that, where I served over the years, I and others have demonstrably made things better for the U.S. as well as for the countries that I've served in."

Schiff then asked Yovanovitch whether she thought the tweet was meant to intimidate her or what kind of effect it would have on other witnesses willing to come forward. She replied that "it's very intimidating."

Schiff asked the witness if the tweet was "designed to intimidate," she responded that she couldn't speak to Trump's motives but that she though that the "effect is to be intimidating."

"Well," Schiff responded, "I want to let you know, Ambassador, that some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously."

After the hearing recessed for votes, Schiff told reporters that Trump's actions constituted "witness intimidation in real time by the president of the United States.

After the exchange, several other congressional Democrats echoed Schiff's assessment of the president's tweet, including 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, Calif., failed presidential candidate Rep. Eric Swalwell, Calif., and far-left freshman "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minn.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., even drew a line between the latest impeachment allegations and the impeachment effort against former President Richard Nixon.

For reference, the federal law covering witness intimidation — 18 USC 1512 —can be found here.

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