During a statement on Tuesday, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced that the Democrats on the committee will release their own report outlining what evidence they have seen so far and the shortcomings in the committee’s investigation.
Schiff stated, “We will be putting together a report that will set out for the country what evidence we have seen to date, what evidence we have seen in terms of the Russian hacking and dumping operation, what evidence we have seen in terms of the Russian social media campaign, their paid media campaign, and yes, the issue of collusion with the Trump campaign.”
He continued, “There is significant evidence, much of it in the public domain, on the issue of collusion. The secret meetings with George Papadopoulos, the secret meeting at Trump Tower with the president’s son and son-in-law and campaign chairman, the lies and dissembling about that meeting, the promises by Russia that were communicated to the highest levels of the campaign in the preview — in the runup to that meeting that this was part of the Russian government’s effort to help Donald Trump by providing derogatory information on Hillary Clinton, and of course, the secret conversations that then-acting National Security Adviser — or incoming National Security Adviser Mike Flynn had with the Russian ambassador to undermine the bipartisan policy of the United States, conversations that he lied about, that other transition officials were evidently aware of, that the vice president misrepresented unknowingly to the country, all of that bears on the issue of collusion. There are other facts outside of the public domain, and of course, one of the most important parts of investigation is putting the pieces together.”
Schiff added, “But still, there is work to be done on that issue, and on others, work we have not been allowed to do. Our committee, for example, has not even interviewed George Papadopoulos, but there are witnesses that were involved or knowledgeable about the Trump Tower meeting who have not been brought before our committee. There are text messages we have not sought to subpoena. We are releasing, this evening, a 22-page status report on the investigation that sets out some of the key witnesses that the majority has been unwilling to bring in, the key documents they have been unwilling to ask for, the witnesses who have come before our committee and stonewalled on key questions, so that the public can see just how incomplete this effort was.”
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