Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff made a glaring claim Sunday that there is “direct evidence” of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The chairman went on to say he refuses to let up on looking into Trump’s finances despite the president’s extreme objections.
I think there is direct evidence in the e-mails from the Russians through their intermediary offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of what is described in writing as the Russian government effort to help elect Donald Trump. They offer that dirt. There is an acceptance of that offer in writing from the president’s son Don Jr. and there’s overt acts in furtherance of that.”
Schiff says circumstantial evidence of Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort sharing internal polling data with someone linked to Russian intelligence services played a part in his claim. The chairman confirmed his committee is currently looking into allegations that Russian operatives have been laundering money through the Trump Organization — though he admitted those claims aren’t currently proven.
The House Intelligence Committee’s probe will include speaking with banks who have worked with Trump, accountants and chief financial officers who’ve worked with the Trump Organization any others with knowledge of the Moscow Trump Tower deal.
The attitude shift among many House Democrats comes after an explosive testimony from Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen where details about numerous financial crimes were aired out. Republicans have downplayed Cohen’s testimony repeatedly, claiming he is continuing to lie after being charged for lying to Congress.
GOP leader Kevin McCarthy went on to call for Schiff to recuse himself from the investigation for contacting Cohen, a claim Schiff said was “pretty frivolous.” Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, also claimed there is still zero evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia despite evidence provided during Cohen’s testimony.
Trump attacked Schiff on Saturday during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, calling him “little shifty Schiff.” He went on to deny there was collusion between him and Russia, saying investigators are morphing the probe to “inspect every deal he’s ever done.”
Watch the clip of Schiff’s interview here:
Featured image via screen capture
