In the wake of Donald Trump Jr.'s releasing emails relating to the arrangement of a meeting with a Russian lawyer seeking information to use against Hillary Clinton, violating election laws is a "very real issue," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Wednesday.
"I think this is evidence that goes to the issue of collusion. The question is it sufficient evidence… I think you have quite plainly, just in the four corners of these emails that have now been released — and the authenticity is not in question," Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told "CBS This Morning" program.
"You have three central campaign people, indeed three of the most important people in the Trump campaign, who go to this meeting with the full expectation of getting help from the Russian government and indeed have sent a signal to the Russian government they would welcome it, they would indeed love it," Schiff said.
"They've talked about, frankly admitted, how disappointed they were that in this particular meeting, they didn't get the dirt, the help they wanted from the Russians," he continued. "So are there issues of whether there was a potential conspiracy to violate U.S. election laws? That is a certainly a very real issue that needs to be investigated."
Schiff said his committee wants to get testimony and documents from "all participants" in the meeting.
Trump Jr.'s claim that they did not intend to collude with the Russian government is "not much of a defense," Schiff said, and "we need to look into whether there were any subsequent efforts."
"One thing we have seen over just the last several days is we can't rely on anything Donald Trump Jr. has to say about this because his story has kept changing as he has had to confront the facts coming out," he added.
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