Schiff: Comey's testimony on Trump "certainly evidence" of obstruction
Just hours before the testimony of fired FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, said former Comey's testimony on Donald Trump's conduct "is certainly evidence" of obstruction of justice.
Schiff is the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, which released Comey's opening statement Wednesday on the eve of his hearing per his request.
Comey testimony confirms @POTUS demanded his loyalty and asked for Flynn case to be dropped. Did his refusal to do either cost him his job? pic.twitter.com/I7nfMC1Y20
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 7, 2017
"There's not a judge in the land that would exclude it as not relevant to the question of obstruction," Schiff said of Comey's opening statement in an interview with "CBS This Morning."
"To say that doesn't constitute some evidence of obstruction, I think you'd have to be willfully looking the other direction," he later added.
Schiff went on to say that "the single best piece of evidence" surrounding the question of obstruction of justice was the fact that the president asked other individuals present in an Oval Office briefing to leave the room so he could speak to Comey privately.
"The president signaled the end of the briefing by thanking the group and telling them all that he wanted to speak to me alone," Comey's opening statement reads.
"Why do that unless you're conscious that what you're about to ask is not an appropriate request," Schiff said in response to the statement.
Schiff also discussed what to look for in Comey's testimony.
"Who would be able to corroborate this testimony?" Schiff asked. "Who did he share this information with? What can he tell us about the notes that he took and when he took them? What else can he tell us about some of the details around these conversations?"
Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in an open testimony and a private session following at 1 p.m. ET.
"Jim Comey will be consistent in his testimony before the Senate," Schiff concluded.