Adam Schiff insists his Russian collusion claim 'wasn't an overstatement'

California Senator-elect Adam Schiff defended his claims of Russian collusion years aboriginal during a caller quality connected CNN’s "State of the Union." 

Host Jake Tapper asked Schiff Sunday astir President-elect Donald Trump’s caller arguable furniture nominations, specified arsenic erstwhile statesmanlike campaigner Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. Although Tapper referred to these nominees arsenic "disruptors," helium wondered whether determination was introspection successful Washington implicit inspiring them. 

"You were censured successful the House past twelvemonth for, successful their view, holding positions of powerfulness during the Trump presidency arsenic president of the House Intelligence Committee, and, according to them, ‘abusing this spot by saying determination was grounds of collusion betwixt Trump’s run and Russia,’" Tapper said.  "And I wonderment if you are feeling astatine all, introspective astatine all, astir that was, according to the Mueller study and according to your Republican colleagues, an overstatement? And I wonderment if you think, successful immoderate way, you helped acceptable the array for these disruptors?"

Adam Schiff stood by his claims astir Russian collusion contempt being repeatedly debunked. (CNN screenshot)

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"First of all, it wasn’t an overstatement," Schiff answered. "There is grounds of collusion. The Trump run manager was gathering with Russian quality and giving them interior polling data, conscionable to springiness you 1 example. And the Mueller study sets each this out."

"It does say, ‘The probe did not found that members of the Trump run conspired oregon coordinated with the Russian authorities successful its predetermination interference activities,’ which doesn’t mean that helium didn’t, that determination weren’t meetings, but they didn’t find grounds of it," Tapper followed up.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe recovered nary grounds of Russian collusion wrong the Trump campaign. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Schiff said, "Mueller says that, too. He says, ‘The information that we didn’t find impervious beyond a tenable uncertainty doesn’t mean determination wasn’t grounds of conspiracy oregon coordination.’"

In 2023, Schiff was censured successful a party-line ballot by the House of Representatives implicit his repeated claims Trump’s 2016 run colluded with Russia to triumph the statesmanlike election. He was besides removed from his presumption connected the House Intelligence Committee earlier that year.

His claims stemmed from the infamous Steele dossier which claimed that Trump’s squad had colluded with Russia and that the Kremlin had blackmail worldly against Trump. In 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller aboriginal concluded successful his ain study that determination was nary grounds Trump had colluded with Russia. 

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Schiff continued to support his claims agelong aft being debunked oregon discredited. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The Steele dossier was further discredited successful 2021 aft Special Counsel John Durham charged Russian expert Ivan Danchenko, who was believed to beryllium the dossier’s superior sub-source, with making mendacious statements to the FBI.

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