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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 26 March 2019

GOP turns fury on Schiff over Russian collusion claims

By LAURIE KELLMAN out there that have done beyond Watergate.” Schiff
Associated Press some very evil things, very was defiant on Monday,
WASHINGTON (AP) — bad things, I would say repeating his assertion that
“Damning evidence” of treasonous things against evidence of collusion is in
collusion with Russia. “More our country,” Trump said “plain sight.” He said he ac-
than circumstantial.” A Monday in the Oval Of- cepts Mueller’s conclusion
scandal of a size “beyond fice, without elaborating. that he could not prove a
Watergate.” “Those people will certainly criminal conspiracy with
For two years, Rep. Adam be looked at.” Russia, but said his commit-
Schiff, the House Intelli- Whatever kind of exami- tee’s investigative work will
gence Committee chair- nation the president has in go on.
man, seemed to be on mind for “those people,” “For whatever reason over
every talk and late-night Schiff appears to be the the last year and a half,
show sounding ominous top of the list. the president has viewed
warnings about what spe- Schiff, a lawyer who has me as a threat,” he told
cial counsel Robert Muel- Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, of Calif., leaves served in Congress since The Associated Press. “His
ler might find on President a House Democratic meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building on 2001, ranged far and fre- allies in Congress have like-
Donald Trump. The Califor- Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 25, 2019. quently across the media wise come to his assistance
nia Democrat got the pres- Associated Press landscape in interviews in attacking me. It comes
ident’s attention — a fact But Mueller found no co- calls for Schiff to resign from about the Mueller investi- with the job, and I take it as
confirmed when Trump ordination or conspiracy the committee or Congress gation. In his sober, mild- a sign of effectiveness that
turned the congressman’s involving Trump, his cam- as the Trump administra- mannered style, Schiff at they feel the need to go af-
name into a foul school- paign and the Russian tion went on the offensive, times came close to sound- ter me.”
yard taunt. “Wow, Mr. Pres- government, the Justice recriminations in mind, with ing like he believed Trump Schiff is far from the only
ident, that’s a good one,” Department said Sunday. the 2020 elections nearing. had broken the law, Re- Democrat to use provoca-
Schiff tweeted back. That sparked furious GOP “There are a lot of people publicans said. tive rhetoric about Trump
More than any other ex- and his campaign. But it
ample, Republicans on was his words that were
Monday pointed to a getting the most attention
March, 2017 appearance from Trump’s re-election
on MSNBC in which Schiff campaign and the Repub-
said “there is more than lican National Commit-
circumstantial evidence tee, which featured Schiff
now” of a relationship be- prominently on lists of Dem-
tween Russia and Trump’s ocrats who had publicly
associates. In December suggested a link between
of that year, Schiff said on Trump and his 2016 cam-
CNN: “The Russians offered paign, and Russia.
help, the campaign ac- “Now we find out that
cepted help. The Russians none of that is true,” House
gave help and the presi- Republican leader Kevin
dent made full use of that McCarthy of California told
help. That is pretty damn- The Associated Press. “He
ing, whether it is proof be- should first apologize to the
yond a reasonable doubt American public and he
of conspiracy or not.” should step back from the
And in May of last year, chairmanship.”
Schiff said on ABC that the Presidential counselor Kel-
Russian trolling of Demo- lyanne Conway went fur-
cratic National Committee ther.
emails is “like Watergate in House Speaker Nancy Pe-
the sense that you had a losi, D-Calif., said the calls
break in at the Democratic to remove Schiff were “ab-
headquarters, in this case a solutely ridiculous.” She
virtual one, not a physical consulted with Schiff and
break in, and you had a other committee leaders
president as part of a cover over the weekend as At-
up,” he said. torney General William Barr
Schiff said later that the notified Congress of Muel-
Russia investigation is “a ler’s report and summa-
size and scope probably rized the details.q