Schiff: 'More Than Circumstantial' Evidence of Russian Collusion

The ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said the panel has "more than circumstantial evidence" of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign during election – but it's gotten "a serious body blow" by chairman Devin Nunes' surprise report that he had intelligence intercepts involving the Trump transition team.

In an interview with Chuck Todd on MSNBC's "MTP Daily" Wednesday afternoon, California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said the committee's probe of Russian influence has collected evidence "very much worthy of investigation."

"I can't go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence and it very much worthy of investigation," he said.

He said, however, that the committee had been "dealt a serious body blow to the credibility of our ability to get answer by today's events," referring to Nunes' briefing to President Donald Trump about the intercepts in the midst of the panel's probe.

In an earlier news conference, Schiff lashed out at Nunes, saying his briefing to the White House and press throws "great doubt into the ability of both the chairman and the committee to conduct the investigation the way it ought to be conducted."

"The American people want there to be a credible investigation" of Russian interference, he said. "And if we're not going to conduct it, then we need to have an independent commission do it. And if the chairman is going to continue to go to the White House rather than his own committee, there's no way we can conduct this investigation."

Schiff said Nunes' decision to go to President Donald Trump with material not yet seen by the committee underscores "the importance of establishing an independent commission, a body that is fully independent of any political considerations including those that may emanate from the White House."

Nunes will have to decide if he's "chairman of an independent investigation... or he is going to act as a surrogate of the White House because he cannot do both."

Schiff emphasized, "There is still no evidence that the president was wiretapped by his predecessor. President Trump's claims that he was remain as baseless today as they were yesterday."

And he charged Nunes' briefing to the president and press "casts quite a profound cloud over our ability to do our work."

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