Article snippet: The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee said Democrat Adam Schiff is “the first person who needs to testify” as the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump moves to a new phase and Schiff’s panel prepares to circulate a draft report on its findings. Representative Doug Collins of Georgia made the comment on “Fox News Sunday.” He was one of several members of the Judiciary panel who appeared on political talk shows as the panel prepares to open its first public hearings in the impeachment probe on Wednesday. “If he chooses not to” testify, Collins said of Schiff, “then I really question his veracity in what he’s putting in his report.” A week ago, Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, rejected the suggestion that he testify as a sign that Republicans “made the decision not to take this process seriously.” Wednesday’s hearing is so far expected to include as-yet-unnamed expert witnesses on the historical and constitutional basis of impeachment, and whether Trump’s alleged actions warrant pressing forward with possible articles of impeachment. Collins has called for a wider array of witnesses at the first hearing. “To ensure fairness and restore integrity to the ongoing impeachment process, I request an expanded panel and a balanced composition of academic witnesses to opine on the subject matter at issue during the hearing,” Collins wrote in a letter to committee chairman Jerrold Nadler on Saturday. Nadler set a 6 p.m. Sunday de... Link to the full article to read more