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Speaker of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff announced that he would send a criminal case to the Justice Department for Erik Prince, who allegedly gave false testimony to his panel about his meeting 2016 with a Russian banker with ties to President Vladimir Putin in the Seychelles.
Schiff, D-Calif., At a Washington Post Live panel on Tuesday, said Prince misled committee members when he appeared in 2017.
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"I think there is very good evidence that he deliberately misled the committee and that he voluntarily made false statements to the committee," Schiff told Bob Costa of the daily newspaper. "The Washington Post".
"The evidence is so cumbersome that the Department of Justice must take it into account. His testimony, which I can discuss because it is notoriously public, was that his meeting in Seychelles with this Russian banker was purely coincidental. He has just arrived in Seychelles about a day to meet the Russian banker. "
Prince, the founder of the private military contractor Blackwater, and the brother of the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, testified in 2017 that the meeting with the Russian banker was a chance meeting. The report of the special advocate Robert Mueller revealed that the meeting had been arranged in advance.
"We know from the Mueller report that this meeting was not a chance," Schiff said Tuesday. "We know that there have been communications after his return."
Schiff added that Prince had had "discussions" with former White House advisor Steve Bannon about the meeting before his departure and "communications" after his return from the meeting.
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"In a way, mysteriously, magically, communications between Prince and Bannon apparently leaked their devices," said Schiff. "In a very material way, I think the evidence strongly suggests that he has deliberately misled our committee and that the Department of Justice must determine whether there is a cause for prosecution."
Schiff added that when Bannon appeared before his committee, he "refused to answer almost all our questions".
"He said he was not answering questions because the White House had asked him not to do it," Schiff said.
Schiff was also asked if his panel found that President Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., or his son-in-law and councilor Jared Kushner gave false testimony.
"I do not want to comment on others. With Prince's testimony, we have reached the stage of maturity and we feel it is appropriate to send him back, "said Schiff. "I do not want to comment on others."
Schiff's comments come in the midst of a bitter battle between Congress and the White House over subpoenas for former and current public servants, before which witnesses must testify before House committees, which will lead in-depth investigations on Trump. The Schiff panel is currently investigating the president's finances.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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