“For an Administration that likes to call itself the most transparent in history, they’ve been hiding from any kind of accountability over this war,” Schiff said, adding that he believes the Administration doesn’t want public hearings “because they have such a weak case for this war that publicly trying to defend it would hurt them.”
He pointed to past statements by Administration officials, including disputed claims that Iran was two weeks away from building a nuclear bomb, that, he said, would be tested differently in a formal hearing. “When they make these statements publicly and not under oath, they can say whatever they want,” he said. “But under oath, it’s another story.”
If hearings were to occur, Schiff said he would press Hegseth and Rubio on the war’s objectives, its endpoint, the rules of engagement, and the conditions under which U.S. ground forces might be deployed. He also said he would investigate the Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school that killed at least 175 people as well as seek clarity on the intelligence underpinning the Administration’s claims about Iran’s capabilities and actions.