Top Democrat on House intel panel: Congress will take time to do Russia probe right

WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday the panel will take the time it needs to do a thorough investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in last year's election despite efforts by the White House to convince Americans that there is no evidence to warrant congressional probes.

"There's method behind the White House madness when to comes to their messaging on Russia," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told reporters at a newsmaker breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.

Schiff said the White House is trying to bring congressional investigations to a quick end by insisting that there is no evidence of collusion.

Former CIA director John Brennan told the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he doesn't know whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials in the 2016 election, but he left office in January with "unresolved questions" about whether Russia had been successful in getting Trump campaign officials to act on its behalf "either wittingly or unwittingly."

The White House jumped on that testimony Tuesday to release a statement asserting that "despite a year of investigation, there is still no evidence of any Russia-Trump campaign collusion."

But Schiff said the investigations by four separate congressional committees into possible collusion are "still at the very early stages." In addition to the congressional probes, former FBI director Robert Mueller is leading an FBI investigation as a special counsel appointed last week by the Department of Justice.

"I'm confident we will resist that (White House pressure)and Mr. Muller will take the time to complete his investigation," Schiff said. "There's little reason to do this if we don't do it right."

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Schiff also said the House Intelligence Committee will subpoena retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn in its Russia probe after the former national security adviser refused to testify before the panel or provide it with documents.

"We will be following up with subpoenas, and those subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information that we need,"  Schiff said.

If Flynn doesn't comply with those subpoenas, "We would use whatever compulsory process we need," the congressman said.

In a separate investigation, the Senate Intelligence Committee issued two new subpoenas Tuesday for Flynn's business records and raised the possibility of holding him in contempt of Congress if he continues to resist turning over documents.

Schiff said the House committee also will seek any audio recordings of President Trump's conversation with former FBI director James Comey, whom the president fired two weeks ago in the midst of Comey's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The panel will ask for any memos written by Comey about his conversations with Trump and any memos by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers about Trump's alleged request that they deny evidence of Russian interference in the U.S. election. Those allegations involving Coats and Rogers came in a story first reported by The Washington Post.

"If all of this is part of a pattern of interference by the White House or worse, we have to find out," Schiff said.

Coats declined to respond to the Senate Armed Service Committee's questions Tuesday about whether Trump pressed him and Rogers to publicly deny that there was evidence of collusion with Russia.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that he will invite Coats to testify before that panel about his contacts with Trump.

Schiff said the House committee's investigation is "back on track" after Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., temporarily stepped aside in April from the Russia probe, which is now being led by Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas.

Nunes had come under fire for speaking publicly about classified foreign surveillance reports he reviewed at the White House.

"We're doing things we need to be doing," Schiff said. "I'd still like to be doing them faster."

He said he believes committee members should see themselves as "investigators" rather than as partisan defenders or prosecutors of the president.

"I don't think that means everyone is going to view the investigation the same way — it would be extraordinary if we did — but I think we all have to reach a common conclusion," Schiff said.