Trump calls on House intelligence chairman to resign after Mueller probe

[March 28, 2019]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday urged House intelligence panel chairman Adam Schiff to resign, after Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation did not establish evidence of collusion between the 2016 election campaign and Russia.

"Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!" Trump tweeted.

Schiff has not been accused by authorities of leaking classified information.

The tweet came as Trump's Republican Party intensifies its counter-attack after the conclusion of Mueller's probe, which was submitted to Attorney General William Barr on Friday. The inquiry did not clear Trump on the allegation of obstruction of justice.

Schiff maintained in an interview with the Washington Post that "undoubtedly there was collusion" and said his committee would continue to investigate counterintelligence issues.

A spokesman for Schiff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway called on Schiff to resign on Monday, a day after Barr released a four-page letter outlining the findings of the Mueller probe.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks to reporters as he departs after hearing testimony from Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, at a closed House Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Young?

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the president, has announced plans to examine the origins of the Trump-Russia probes. Some leading Republicans, including House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy, have called on Schiff to resign from the panel or as committee chairman.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Bernadette Baum)

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