Adam Schiff Claims He Has “Direct Evidence of Collusion” By Trump Campaign

Here's more on the story, from The Hill:

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Sunday that he believes a Russian lawyer's 2016 offer of damaging information on Hillary Clinton to members of the Trump campaign and their subsequent meeting amounts to "direct evidence" of collusion.

“I think there is direct evidence in the emails 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," Schiff said on CBS's "Face the Nation," in response to a question about collusion.

"They offer that dirt. There is an acceptance of that offer in writing from the president’s son, Don Jr., and there is overt acts and furtherance of that," he added, citing a summer 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between the Russian lawyer and members of the president's team.

"That to me is direct evidence," Schiff continued. "But there’s also abundant circumstantial evidence."

He pointed to charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's testimony as examples. 

The Trump Tower meeting has remained a flashpoint in investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Donald Trump Jr.initially said the meeting was focused on Russian adoption policy and that it was a waste of time, but the president last August confirmed that the meeting was meant to gather damaging information on his then-opponent.

Schiff stopped short of indicating that the evidence amounts to a case for impeachment, saying it's not yet clear there's evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the president engaged in a criminal conspiracy. He said he intends to wait for the special counsel and congressional investigators to present their findings.

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