Schiff: Trump Jr.’s Russia Meeting ‘Clear Evidence’ Of Intent To Collude

UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 27: House Intelligence ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., holds a media availability on the committee's Russia investigation on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Cal... UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 27: House Intelligence ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., holds a media availability on the committee's Russia investigation on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images) MORE LESS
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Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, on Sunday called Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer after he was promised alleged damaging information on Hillary Clinton “about as clear evidence” as it is possible to find of intent to collude with Russia to aid his father’s campaign.

“This is about as clear evidence you could find of intent by the campaign to collude with the Russians, to get useful information from the Russians,” Schiff said on ABC News’ “This Week.”

He said Trump Jr.’s emails arranging the meeting, which the President’s eldest son published Tuesday shortly before the New York Times reported them, demonstrated “a willingness not only to accept” information from the lawyer “but to indicate to Russia what the best timing was.”

Schiff dismissed claims by Jay Sekulow, a member of President Donald Trump’s legal team, that Trump did not know about the meeting and that nothing illegal took place.

“To believe that, though, we have to rely on two things. We have to rely on Don Jr.’s representation of what happened at that meeting, and we have already seen, many times, we can’t rely on that,” Schiff said. “So we can’t accept anything Don Jr. says. And of course we can’t accept much the President says about this either, because he has a similar record of not being forthcoming when it comes to Russia.”

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