Russians through their intermediary offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of what is described in writing as the Russian government effort to help elect Donald Trump," Schiff said on CBS's "Face the Nation," in response to a question about collusion.

"They offer that dirt. There is an acceptance of that offer in writing from the president’s son, Don Jr., and there is overt acts and furtherance of that," he added, citing a summer 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between the Russian lawyer and members of the president's team.

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"That to me is direct evidence," Schiff continued. "But there’s also abundant circumstantial evidence."

He pointed to charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set inalleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE and former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's testimony as examples.

Rep. Adam Schiff says the emails from Russians offering the Trump campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton are "direct evidence" of collusion https://t.co/QheiKiQQOI pic.twitter.com/Q6l06nKLzp — CBS News (@CBSNews) March 3, 2019

The Trump Tower meeting has remained a flashpoint in investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Donald Trump Jr. Don John Trump'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic requests pardon from Trump: 'Be my hero please' Zaid Jilani discusses Trump's move to cancel racial sensitivity training at federal agencies Trump International Hotel in Vancouver closes permanently MORE initially said the meeting was focused on Russian adoption policy and that it was a waste of time, but the president last