Adam Schiff: DOJ should have moved faster with Trump indictments

Adam Schiff blames the Justice Department — at least partially — for the possibility that former President Donald Trump may not face trial in his federal cases before the 2024 election.

“The Justice Department did wait at least a year to look beyond the foot soldiers — those that broke into the Capitol that day — and refrained from looking at those who were the inciters of the attack on the Capitol,” the California representative said of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

“I think that delay has contributed to a situation where none of these trials may go forward.”

The cases against Trump have been experiencing a series of delays in recent weeks. The federal election interference case is on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court decides his immunity claims, and the timing for the classified documents trial remains unclear. On Friday, the judge overseeing his New York criminal case pushed back Trump's expected first trial until at least mid-April so that new records could be reviewed.

The recent delays have been elevating fears among Trump’s critics that he won’t face trial in his federal cases before the 2024 election — and perhaps not at all.

“There is a chance that he could evade justice by delaying justice. This is a tried-and-true tactic of Trump throughout his career,” Schiff said Sunday.

Part of Trump’s legal strategy throughout all of his cases has been for his lawyers to attempt to push back trial dates. Schiff said that they are the most at fault for the delays.

Schiff, a long-time Biden ally, is running for the Senate seat formerly held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein against Republican Steve Garvey.