By Itunuoluwa Adebo

A top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee is claiming that he has been presented with new information on the collaboration between associates of President Donald Trump and Russia, suggesting “it’s the kind of evidence” that a grand jury investigation would want to consider.

Rep. Adam Schiff t Thursday said that he had seen additional evidence, but would not specify what it was. “We continue to get new information that, I think, paints a more complete picture of at least what we know at the outset of our investigation,” Schiff said.

Asked to explain his comments earlier in the week when he said there was more than just “circumstantial evidence of collusion,” Schiff said, “I do think that it’s appropriate to say that it’s the kind of evidence that you would submit to a grand jury at the beginning of an investigation.

“It’s not the kind of evidence that you take to a trial jury when you’re trying to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt. But we’re at the beginning of an investigation, and given the gravity of the subject matter, I think that the evidence certainly warrants us doing a thorough investigation.”

On Thursday night, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said he has “no idea” and is “not familiar” with the evidence Nunes described.

The California Democrat said it was “baffling” that his Republican counterpart on the committee, Nunes, would not rule out that the information he disclosed Wednesday — the California Republican said communications of Trump and his associates may have been collected by intelligence agencies came from the White House.

Itunuoluwa