After a former top Trump campaign adviser cut a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller, Rep. Adam Schiff reportedly pushed for his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.
The California lawmaker, who's the ranking Democrat on the Intel panel, said in a statement Friday he thinks ex-campaign aide Rick Gates could provide new insight in the ongoing Russia probe, The Hill reported.
"At the appropriate time, it will be important for the House Intelligence Committee to hear directly from Mr. Gates, and other cooperating witnesses, as part of our ongoing investigation into the Russian active measures campaign during the 2016 election," Schiff said in the statement, the outlet reported.
"Perhaps more significantly, Gates was also in a position to observe the inner workings of the campaign at its most senior level and, as the special counsel looks into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, Gates could prove a key source of information on these and other issues," he added.
Gates pleaded guilty Friday to two charges brought against him by Mueller in federal court in Washington, D.C. — one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of making a false a statement to the FBI agents investigating Russian interference.
He's agreed to cooperate with Mueller's federal probe.
The plea deal followed Mueller's Thursday announcement of additional charges in a superseding indictment, hitting Gates and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort with financial-related crimes related to their work for pro-Russian political forces in Ukraine before their involvement with the Trump campaign.
According to the Hill, legal experts believe Gates is likely a key figure in cooperation with the Mueller probe and will turn up the pressure on Manafort to also get him to flip to working with federal prosecutors.
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