The House Intelligence Committee began its public impeachment hearings with Republicans echoing the President's charges that it was vendetta against him by Dems with the aid of the media, or what Rep. Devin Nunes, ranking member, called "the corrupt media."

Nunes, in his opening statement in the first hearing, dismissed the impeachment inquiry as a damaging spectacle and "carefully orchestrated media smear campaign," merely a "low rent" Ukrainian sequel to the Russia collusion investigation that found no evidence that the President was a "Russian agent."

He called that a pitiful finale to the attempt by the Democrats and "corrupt media" to overturn the 2016 election, the "spectacular implosion of their Russia hoax," he said.

Nunes talked of one-sided leaks to new media and "secret depositions" in a cult-like atmosphere in the basement of the Capitol, followed by "highly staged" selective leaks of transcripts. He talked of "false stories" and "preposterous allegations" in a scorched earth Democratic strategy and a "carefully orchestrated media smear campaign." He also said the Dems made-for-TV witnesses had essentially been given a closed-door audition via those closed hearings.

Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) made it clear he did not agree with assessment of the inquiry as a weak second act to the collusion investigation drama.

"The President has instructed the State Department and other agencies to ignore congressional subpoenas for documents," Schiff said. "He has instructed witnesses to defy subpoenas and refuse to appear. And he has suggested that those who do expose wrongdoing should be treated like traitors and spies. These actions will force Congress to consider, as it did with President Nixon, whether Trump’s obstruction of the constitutional duties of Congress constitute additional grounds for impeachment."

The hearing witnesses are Bill Taylor, former top Ukraine diplomat, and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau at State.

President Donald Trump, whose tweets have been declared officials statements by the President, was in fighting form Monday with a string of tweets attacking his critics.  

He asked whether Rep. Adam Schiff should be arrested for treason, said that the Bidens (his likely Democratic opponent, former VP Joe Biden and son, Hunter) were corrupt, and said the media, perhaps his favorite target, might be even more corrupt than the Bidens. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1178643854737772545[/embed][embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1178671715624394757[/embed]

The President also tried to explain why he was seeking Ukraine's help in investigating the Bidens over to-date uncorroborated allegations of corruption:

[embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1178670564879343619[/embed]

Schiff (D-Calif.) is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a leader in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump over his conversation with the president of Ukraine, as revealed by a complaint by a government whistleblower. 

The President also lit into the whistleblower, calling him "fake," as he does the mainstream media. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1178641557097975809[/embed]

The Washington Post was reporting Sunday that Schiff said he had a deal to hear testimony from the whistleblower.

In a video posted on Twitter Saturday (Sept. 28), 

[embed]https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1178055467987275776[/embed]

President Trump called the impeachment inquiry "the single greatest scam in the history of American politics" and said Democrats were trying to take away "everything," including  Americans' freedom and their vote.  

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, is among those in Congress calling for it to investigate the false alarm text alert that warned Hawaiians over the weekend of an incoming missile strike, claiming not to be a test.

FCC chair Ajit Pai has already launched an investigation, while signaling that the issue was the state's failure to have protections against such an error.

"Congress must investigate the false ballistic missile alarm in Hawaii. An unforgivable false alarm that took 38 minutes to correct," Schiff Tweeted.

Pai was clearly on the same page. "Federal, state, and local officials throughout the country need to work together to identify any vulnerabilities to false alerts and do what’s necessary to fix them.," he said. "We also must ensure that corrections are issued immediately in the event that a false alert does go out.”

There were online reports of children being placed in storm drains for shelter and residents ducking, covering and crying. There was also footage of people running down the street that evoked 1950's movies about irradiated insects and undersea creatures, but it was clearly no laughing matter. With the tensions high between the U.S. and North Korea over the latter's nuclear program, the false alarm clearly had the frightening ring (make that a claxon) of truth to many.

Get complete coverage of the FCC's set-top proposal.

Below is a list of content creators who have either registered their opposition to the FCC set-top proposal or raised serious concerns about it. The source of the list: Reps. Adam Schiff and Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) and Gene Green (D-Texas), in a letter to House colleagues advising them not to believe it if they are told the content community backs that proposal.

• 21st Century Fox

• A&E Television Networks

• American Association of Independent Music

• American Federation of Musicians

• C-SPAN

• CBS

• Copyright Alliance

• Creative Future

• Crossings TV

• Directors Guild of America

• Feel Good TV

• Freemind Ventures

• Hola! LA, Latin Heat Media

• Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)

• Individual creators of color, including:  Val Benning, Roger Bobb, Bailey Brown, Holly Carter, Devon Franklin, Tamra Goins, Rob Hardy, Elijah Kelley, Rasheena Nash, Elrick Williams

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)

• Manteca Media

• Mnet America

• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

• National Music Publishers Association

• Perfect Day Media

• Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

• Revolt Media and TV

• Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)

• Scripps Network Interactive

• SoundExchange

• Stateless Media

• The Walt Disney Company & ESPN

• Time Warner Inc.

• TV One

• Viacom

• VMe TV