Adam Schiff and Donald Trump
He also chided his Republican colleagues who, in his view, too harshly criticized the agency, warning them that doing so could lead to an erosion of trust.
Fewer than four years later, however, Schiff is singing a different tune.
Now in the Senate, the California Democrat is one of the most vocal critics, sounding the alarm about Trump's efforts to reform the Justice Department to his liking.
On Monday, he pushed back against Trump's claim that he and other members of the House committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot could be subject to "investigation at the highest level," as the president threatened in a Truth Social post.
"The members of the Jan 6 Committee are all proud of our work," Schiff wrote on X, in response to Trump's remarks. "Your threats will not intimidate us. Or silence us."
Earlier this month, Schiff took aim at the current leadership of the Justice Department in a blistering floor speech, noting that the DOJ’s three most senior officials, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and John Sauer, all formerly represented Trump in criminal court proceedings.
By so frequently claiming the Justice Department has been improperly "weaponized" against him, Schiff said, Trump has arguably given his officials a green light, "in Orwellian fashion, to do what they have accused others of doing," which is "to weaponize the department. … To use the department as a sword and as a shield."
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEFENDS TRUMP'S FIRING OF INSPECTORS GENERAL
Trump has vowed to clean up the Justice Department and FBI after claiming for years it had been politicized to go after him. (Getty Images)
That questionnaire is also the subject of a lawsuit filed this year by current and former FBI agents, who are seeking to head off any retaliation or discriminatory action against personnel involved in the Jan. 6 probe. A judge is expected to hear from both parties in court later this month.
Most recently, Trump attempted to strip security clearances and access to federal government buildings for all Perkins Coie employees, a law firm he sees as opposed to his political agenda, prompting a federal judge to step in and block the order.
"An American President is not a king – not even an 'elected' one – and his power to remove federal officers and honest civil servants like plaintiff is not absolute," U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell wrote in a court order this month that blocked one of Trump’s executive orders from taking force.
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Schiff, for his part, appears to share that view.
"There could be no more frontal assault on the post-Watergate policy of having some division between the White House and the Justice Department than the Supreme Court of the United States saying, ‘Break down that wall. Use the department any way you wish. Create cases where there’s no evidence. Dismiss cases where there’s plenty of evidence. And you will never face accountability. No matter how corrupt a motive,'" Schiff said this month.
Reached for comment about his evolving views on the Justice Department, Schiff's office pointed Fox News Digital to his previous remarks, including a February interview on MSNBC’s "The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell." Asked about his claims that Trump has weaponized the Justice Department – and the severity of the issue – Schiff responded, "We’ve had a debate about what level of constitutional crisis we’re in, and frankly, I think we’re already there."
Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-senator-adam-schiff-changes-tune-doj-reams-increasingly-orwellian-leadership