Rep. Schiff: Trump Might Go Down As 'Worst President in Modern History'

Former FBI Director James Comey's written testimony ahead of his hearing on Thursday corroborates suspicions of "very incriminating" allegations against President Trump and Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election, said Rep. Adam Schiff, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Speaking Wednesday from his office in Washington, D.C., Schiff (D-Burbank) said he wasn't surprised by the revelations that Trump expressed growing concern over the mounting Russia probe and his apparent wish that it be brought to an end. According to Comey, that included a request by Trump to see what could be done to “lift the cloud” of the investigation enveloping his young presidency.

"That’s pretty damning,” Schiff said. “You also have confirmation that the president effectively asked [Comey] to stop the portion of the Russian investigation involving [former National Security Adviser] Michael Flynn. Both of those things are completely inappropriate, unethical and maybe more.”

In his prepared testimony released on Wednesday, Comey said he had a total of nine one-on-one conversations -- three face-to-face meetings and six phone calls -- with Trump before his firing. In it, Comey said he documented all of these conversations with Trump immediately afterward.

Schiff would not go so far as to say that these allegations may rise to the level of obstruction of justice -- and thus potential grounds for impeachment -- by the president.

“I think there are still a lot more facts we have to determine before we can pre-judge what the consequences ought to be," he said. "But it certainly appears the president was trying to interfere with certain parts of the investigation and to exert his influence over the director and his handling of the Russian investigation."

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) said this week that Comey's appearance at the open hearing will be his only public testimony about his firing and interactions with Trump. Schiff believes Comey’s advance written testimony will play a big role in the direction of the questioning.

“My guess is this is going to be his anchor, and that he will hew very close to the wording of it," said Schiff. "I think he has probably pored over this to get it right. So I'd be surprised if you saw much deviation. You might see a little more fleshing out of some of these issues.

"I think he will resist questions that ask him to draw conclusions about whether this meets the standard of obstruction of justice. I think he will defer that to the special counselor, Mr. Mueller,” he added.

Schiff has grown increasingly critical of Trump, going so far as to tweet several days ago that he will "go down as the worst President in modern history” -- strong words for a lawmaker with a critical role on the House Intelligence Committee pursuing its own bipartisan inquiry into ties between Russia and the Trump administration.

Citing Trump's policy on climate change, the NATO alliance and his relationship with European allies, Schiff said Trump has single-handedly "given up the mantle of leadership in the free world."

"I think I speak for my constituents when I say: He will go down in short order as the worst president in modern history," said Schiff. "And I don't say that with any joy. I can't just ignore everything else this president is doing that has nothing to do with Russia.”

On Tuesday, Schiff and his Republican colleague on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, told reporters that the committee will continue to "aggressively pursue" its side of the Russia investigation.