Republicans began signaling in recent weeks that they were anxious to wrap up the investigation, saying they had explored all the key evidence.
Democrats, meanwhile, have been warning that Republicans were going to end the investigation prematurely, without calling dozens of important witnesses to testify and without forcing many of those who testified to answer crucial questions.
Schiff said Republicans declined to subpoena witnesses to compel them to answer key questions after witnesses refused to do so during their voluntary, closed-door appearances before the committee. Among the witnesses who refused to answer crucial questions: Donald Trump Jr., Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump Organization attorney Michael Cohen, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, and former White House communications director
Hope Hicks.
When former White House chief strategist
Steve Bannon refused to answer questions even after being subpoenaed, Republicans would not take action to hold him in contempt of Congress, Democrats said.
Schiff said Republicans have also refused Democrats' requests to subpoena vital documents, including financial and communications records that could verify or refute witness testimony.
"If the Russians do have leverage over the President of the United States, the Majority has simply decided it would rather not know," Schiff said.
The committee's traditional bipartisanship began unraveling in the spring of last year, when Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., took a secret trip to the White House grounds to review information gathered by unnamed sources purporting to show that President Trump was under surveillance by the Obama administration during the 2016 campaign.
At a news conference after his trip, Nunes told reporters that he had discovered evidence to support the president's claim that he was wiretapped at Trump Tower. However, the Justice Department confirmed in a court filing in September that there was no evidence that Trump Tower was targeted for surveillance.
