Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) took aim at Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) over the weekend, resurfacing a nearly two-year-old prank call in which Schiff told two Russian shock-jocks that he would accept information damaging to President Donald Trump.
The Florida lawmaker spliced together Schiff's comments to the radio hosts and remarks Schiff made last week in which he criticized the president for using the presidency to "manufacture dirt on his [political] opponent."
Schiff's comments then, in relation to the standard he is now applying to the president, makes him a "hypocrite," Gaetz said.
.@RepAdamSchiff is a hypocrite. https://t.co/LFbGFBUG6r— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@Rep. Matt Gaetz) 1569785615.0
In the prank call, which occurred in January 2018, the radio hosts — Vladimir "Vovan" Kuznetzov and Alexey "Lexus" Stolyarov — pose as Andriy Parubiy, the now-former speaker of Ukraine's parliament, and offer Schiff damaging material on Trump, which included alleged naked photos, Roll Call reported.
"So, you have recordings of both [Russian journalist Ksenia] Sobchak and [Russian model and singer Olga] Buzova where they're discussing the compromising material on Mr. Trump?" Schiff asked the pranksters.
"Absolutely," one replied.
Schiff later responded, "Well obviously we would welcome a chance to get copies of those recordings."
The radio hosts also claimed they had a recording of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn talking with a Russian spy.
While Schiff has not responded to Gaetz's charges of hypocrisy, a spokesperson for Schiff told The Atlantic last year that Schiff informed law enforcement about the prank call.
"Before agreeing to take the call, and immediately following it, the committee informed appropriate law-enforcement and security personnel of the conversation, and of our belief that it was probably bogus," the spokesperson said.
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