WASHINGTON (AP) — The House’s top Democrat investigating Russia’s election meddling on Tuesday declared that in many ways President Donald Trump is “far more grave a threat†to American democracy than the Kremlin.
Rep. Adam Schiff cited a litany of actions by
Trump, from appointing Cabinet officers with “direct conflicts of interest†and goals of dismantling their agencies to limiting Muslim immigration and discrediting federal judges.
As for the president’s own possible jeopardy, Schiff said Trump is trying to disparage the credibility of special counsel Robert Mueller and the congressional panels that are investigating possible coordination between his campaign and Russia in the election that put him in the White House.
“So no matter what is produced, he can say it’s a fake,†the California congressman said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“I do feel our democracy is under threat,†Schiff said. Trump’s approach to governing, he said, “is a serious problem and in many respects far more grave a threat than anything coming from outside the country.â€
The interview came as Trump jetted across the global stage on his first official trip to Asia. But back in Washington, FBI and congressional probes continued to churn. Trump has insisted that the FBI investigation, including the federal indictments of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the guilty plea of former adviser George Papadopoulos, have nothing to do with him.
The top Democrat on the House intelligence committee says the United States is “marginally better prepared†to prevent Russian interference in U.S. elections. But, Rep. Adam Schiff cautions that “the Russians are a very capable cyber-adversary.†(Nov. 7)
“It’s disappointing, though hardly surprising, that Adam Schiff would make hysterical and demonstrably false comments about the president, and then claim to be objective in his oversight duties,†said Raj Shah, White House principal deputy press secretary.
Schiff also had sharp words for Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet — Google’s parent company — who he said were stonewalling investigators about sharing data that could possibly link the Trump campaign to Russian interference.
Among the questions Schiff said the social media companies could help resolve is whether Americans were surreptitiously targeted by the Russians in ways that were “sufficiently specific and overlapping†that they would have required input directly from the Trump campaign.
When the companies were asked for such information, Schiff said: “They were noncommittal, but we will continue to press them.â€
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