By Mary O’KEEFE

Four days before the Mueller Report was given to Attorney General William Barr, Congressman Adam Schiff held a town hall meeting sponsored by the Los Feliz Improvement Association where he predicted that, although he hoped the AG would release the full report, he was concerned that would not happen. Days earlier the House Republicans joined with House Democrats and voted 420-to-0 to demand the Justice Department publically release the report’s findings.

Schiff’s prediction was based when then-nominee Barr, during his confirmation hearings, declined to follow the advice of the Justice Department ethics officials of whether he should recuse himself from the investigation of the Russian probe. He also predicted that Congress would fight to get the full report released – which is the fight that is going on in Washington now.

During Schiff’s speech, the crowd of about 500 were in agreement with what he said and were seemingly happy with his leadership. The audience gave Schiff five standing ovations, three before he even went on stage.

Schiff spoke about the challenges of dealing with the present administration, from handling surprise Tweets that were negative to allies when a group of legislators were meeting with allies to the numerous concerns from foreign to national policies.

He compared the Mueller Report to the report released after the Watergate investigation and to the Starr Report that investigated former President Bill Clinton. He also spoke of precedence that was set when the Justice Department turned over 880,000 pages of discovery to Congress in the investigation over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. In the Clinton email investigation, no charges were brought and the matter was eventually closed. Yet, throughout the Mueller investigation, several people have been charged and elements of those investigations may still be open.

While the audience was obviously concerned about national issues they were also concerned about local issues.

“I think our biggest problem in the area is homelessness,” said resident Stella Balesh. “And staying out of a war and supporting education.”

Concerns also included accelerated climate change and gun violence, all of which were addressed by Schiff in the over two-hour discussion. He spoke about the changing nature of the world and equated the tech revolution to the Industrial Revolution. He did want people to know, though that, despite the constant barrage of negative information that streams from social media and national news, Congress is working together on many issues that do not get “national coverage.”

“Sometimes these [stories] get lost,” he said. “We have been doing a great deal of work that has nothing to do with Russia … For the first time in decades we have passed legislation to try to tackle the problem of gun violence.”

He added it is unfortunate that the public is reminded in a “horrific way’ of why that is so necessary, referencing recent shootings.

“[Congress] passed the Universal Background Check. This is such a no brainer, yet, nonetheless, it has been difficult,” he said.

Previously a person who went into a sporting goods store to buy a gun but were refused the purchase after a background check revealed ineligibility was able to make the purchase from a private seller or online.

“What sense does that make?” Schiff asked. “None.”

In February, the House of Representatives s passed the Universal Background Check. The new bill closes loopholes that allowed exemptions for private sellers.

Election reform was another matter that Congress had taken major steps to deal with, from issues of gerrymandering to making election day a national holiday.

“And something near and dear to my heart, which I have been working on now for over a decade and is very close to home,” he said referring to the Rim of the Valley.

The Rim of the Valley study, which was signed by President George Bush, has now been completed. Schiff and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris in March introduced legislation that would add more than 191,000 acres of the Rim of the Valley Corridor to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

“These [types of legislations] don’t make the national news but it is proof that even in a bitterly divided Congress we can get things done,” he said.

He added although there is a lot of negativity he does find optimistic moments, and told the audience to get involved and stay involved.

“At times it can be overwhelming, and you just want to turn and say, ‘This is too much. I am going to tune out.’ We can’t afford to have you tune out,” he said. “We are going to get through this period. We have been through far worse and we are going to get through this.”

  Mary Okeefe