Democrats’ case for Trump-Russia grand conspiracy crumbles with lack of evidence

Two months ago, Rep. Adam B. Schiff, who is leading the House Democrats’ inquisition of President Trump, said it “still remains to be seen” whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in its interference in the 2016 election.

Then on Dec. 10, the congressman from California went in a different direction.

“We do know this,” the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence said on CNN, a frequent Schiff host. “The Russians offered help, the campaign accepted help. The Russians gave help and the president made full use of that help, and that is pretty damning, whether it is proof beyond a reasonable doubt of conspiracy or not.”

Whether the Russian hacking and release of thousands of Democratic Party emails amount to acceptance of help for the Trump campaign is up for debate. The emails, and those that WikiLeaks released later from Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s hacked account, were publicly available and reported by many news websites.

More