Rep. Adam Schiff says it’s premature to conclude that members of the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to interfere in the general election.
Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper whether he can “say definitively that there was collusion” between members of the campaign and Moscow to meddle in the presidential race, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said it’s too early to tell.
“We can say, conclusively, this is something that needs to be thoroughly investigated,” Mr. Schiff said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But it’s way premature to be reaching conclusions.”
“We are still at the very early stage of the investigation,” he said. “The only thing I can say is that it would be irresponsible for us not to get to the bottom of this.”
The California Democrat previously said he had seen “more than circumstantial evidence” to suggest members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia to interfere in the presidential race.
“I can tell you that the case is more than that,” Mr. Schiff said last month on “State of the Union.” “And I can’t go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence now.”
At that time, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, California Republican, said he wasn’t aware of the evidence cited by Mr. Schiff.
The White House has denied the allegation that there was any collusion between the campaign and the Russian government, which allegedly conspired with WikiLeaks to release hacked emails from top members of the Clinton campaign, including chairman John Podesta.
In testimony before the House committee, FBI Director James Comey said there is an ongoing investigation into “the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.”
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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