Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) said Tuesday that he believes special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election would have turned up evidence of alleged collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign by now if there had been any.
“I think if Robert Mueller had already found collusion, this investigation would have wrapped up very quickly,” Renacci said on CNN’s “New Day.”
Renacci, who lost his bid last month to unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), said he believes the investigation should be allowed to finish, but suggested that it should wrap up relatively soon after going on for nearly two years.
{mosads}”I also believe, let’s see what all comes out, let’s see what all plays out and let’s not make any decisions in advance,” he added.
Renacci claimed that “clearly there’s no collusion” between President Trump and Russia, an assertion anchor John Berman pushed back on, noting that Mueller has made no such declaration.
Trump has, for months, insisted that he did not collude with Russia, often decrying the Mueller investigation as a “witch hunt.”
Mueller has thus far implicated five former Trump associates in his investigation, as well as more than 20 Russian nationals.
In a court filing last week, the special counsel’s office laid out the extent of cooperation between prosecutors and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn.
On Friday, Mueller’s team detailed allegations that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied to prosecutors after reaching a plea deal.
The special counsel also filed supplementary paperwork about former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who prosecutors in Manhattan said in a Friday court filing had violated campaign finance law at the president’s direction.
Trump on Monday called the alleged violations a “simple private transaction.”