Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, appeared on a pair of news talk shows on Sunday to argue that special counsel Robert Mueller's report on President Donald Trump was damning even if the demonstrated collusion did not rise to the level of criminality.
After telling ABC's "This Week" that there was "ample evidence of collusion in plain sight," Schiff elaborated that "I use that word very carefully because I also distinguish time and time again between collusion, that is acts of corruption that may or may not be criminal, and proof of a criminal conspiracy. And that is a distinction that Bob Mueller made within the first few pages of his report. In fact, every act that I’ve pointed to as evidence of collusion has now been borne out by the report," according to Politico.
Schiff also appeared on "Fox News Sunday" to say that he wasn't sure if he would support impeaching Trump, according to Fox News. Although he did not rule out supporting impeachment hearings, Schiff admitted that it is a "very difficult decision" and that he would need "the next couple of weeks" to make his choice.
Schiff also took to Twitter on Sunday to articulate his points.
"I said it before and I’ll say it again: It’s not ok to seek Russian help in your campaign. It’s not ok to use materials they stole from your opponent, or to make it part of your campaign strategy. Sadly, my GOP colleagues do think that’s ok. The American people know better," Schiff wrote in one tweet.
He added in a second tweet, which included footage of his ABC News appearance, "Did the President obstruct justice Yes. Was it worse than Watergate? Yes. This break in was by a hostile foreign adversary. This president welcomed their help. This president lied about it and sided with that power over his own agencies. Don’t believe it? Read the report."
During that ABC News appearance, Schiff also rebutted White House counselor Kellyanne Conway by saying, "You heard another display of alternative facts from Kellyanne Conway today where she could not even acknowledge that the Russians tried to help the Trump campaign... There is ample evidence of collusion in plain sight."
Schiff has been known for his pugnacious criticisms of Trump. Earlier this month, when Trump accused Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., of anti-Semitism, the California Democrat said, "I hate to even dignify those remarks, but look, it’s not the Democratic Party that believes that there are good people on both sides of a Nazi rally. There’s just one party and one party leader who believes that, and that’s Donald Trump."
He added, "If there’s anything that is likely to cement the relationship between the Democratic Party and the Jewish community, it’s the presidency of Donald Trump. The lack of character and values that are certainly inconsistent with Jewish values, I think, are only consolidating support in the Jewish community and I think the president needs to look inward when it comes to the rise of anti-Semitism in the country and his own actions and his own words and how that may fuel some of the rise in hate that we see."
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