“There was coordination between Adam Schiff’s staff and the whistleblower. We know that because The New York Times reported that,” she said following a legislative luncheon at the Queensbury Hotel.

The Times reported that Schiff knew more about the makings of the whistleblower complaint than he initially let on, according to the PolitiFact fact-checker website.

In addition, media outlets, including the Times and the Washington Post, have reported that the whistleblower came to Schiff’s aides with a vague accusation against the president.

The aides did not share the identity of the whistleblower, a CIA officer, with Schiff. There is no evidence that Schiff helped write the complaint that led to the impeachment inquiry that Trump held up military aid to Ukraine seeking investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s business dealings in the country, according to PolitFact.

Rep. Adam Schiff (Official photo)

Stefanik said Schiff initially was adamant in media interviews that he wanted to hear from the whistleblower.

“He only stopped requesting to hear from the whistleblower and refused to call the whistleblower when it became clear that there was coordination,” she said. “He knows who the whistleblower is because when certain lines of questions get asked that don’t even reference the term whistleblower, he didn’t allow the witness to answer the questions.”

“We all know that Adam Schiff is covering up the fact that there was coordination with the whistleblower,” she added.

Stefanik made the same points on Wednesday on Sean Hannity’s Fox News television program. She reacted to a clip that Hannity played of Schiff, a California Democrat, saying there has been politicization of intelligence gathering.

“No one has been more political in manipulating intelligence and the media than Adam Schiff. He has consistently abused his power. Even today from the well of the United States Senate, Adam Schiff lied to millions of Americans who are tuning in saying that there was no coordination with the whistleblower,” she said.

“We know that there is coordination between Adam Schiff, his staff and the whistleblower. Before the whistleblower complaint was even issued, they helped put together the complaint and he withheld that information from his colleagues on the committee,” she added.

Stefanik said Friday she looked forward to putting the impeachment trial behind and getting back to the people’s work in Washington including focusing on the economy and health care.

Stefanik said she has received a lot of support from her constituents for her defense of the president.

“I got a lot of positive feedback for standing up on behalf of the voters in this district who voted overwhelmingly to support President Trump,” she said.