Schiff defiant: ‘Undoubtedly, there is collusion’

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a new interview that he believes evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia “undoubtedly” exists and can be found by his committee, even though a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation said there was no evidence to support that conclusion.

Schiff told The Washington Post that the special counsel’s investigators did not look at whether President Trump was subject to the influence of foreign powers and said that his committee would continue to pursue an investigation into whether the president’s campaign worked with Russia or other countries in 2016.

{mosads}“Undoubtedly, there is collusion,” Schiff told the Post. “We will continue to investigate the counterintelligence issues. That is, is the president or people around him compromised in any way by a hostile foreign power?”

“It doesn’t appear that was any part of Mueller’s report,” he continued.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a vocal supporter of Trump’s, told the newspaper that Schiff was guilty of telling falsehoods about the Russia investigation and his committee’s progress.

“He essentially spent 22 months lying to the country,” Gaetz said.

Schiff came under fire earlier this week from White House allies who have called for his resignation as chairman of the Intelligence panel over his comments claiming to have found evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

“Adam Schiff should resign,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said. “He has no right as somebody who has been peddling a lie day after day after day unchallenged. Unchallenged and not under oath. Somebody should have put him under oath and said, ‘You have evidence? Where is it?”

“I’m more than used to attacks from my GOP colleagues and I would expect nothing less,” Schiff responded to CNN.

The Mueller investigation, which lasted for almost two years and resulted in dozens of criminal charges for Trump associates unrelated to accusations of collusion with Russia, ended over the weekend with no further indictments being issued by prosecutors.

Trump and his allies have since claimed victory, accusing Democrats and the media of spinning stories about the investigation to conclusions not supported by the facts.