The media has focused in on one key moment in Tuesday's House Intelligence hearing, when former CIA director John Brennan told lawmakers he saw intelligence indicating contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia that was "worthy" of further FBI scrutiny.
"I know that there was a sufficient basis of information and intelligence that required further investigation by the bureau to determine whether or not U.S. persons were actively conspiring, colluding with Russian officials," Brennan told GOP Rep. Trey Gowdy during the intelligence hearing.
Tellingly, Gowdy later pressed a point that Donald Trump has repeatedly made himself—attempting to delineate between the actions of the candidate himself and his campaign staff in regard to collusion with the Russians.
Gowdy: Did you see evidence of collusion, coordination, conspiracy between Donald Trump and Russian state actors?
Brennan: I saw information and intelligence that was worthy of investigation by the bureau to determine whether or not such cooperation or collusion was taking place. [...]
Gowdy: And that would have been directly between the candidate and Russian state actors?
Brennan: That's not what I said. I'm not going to talk about any individuals.
Gowdy: But that was my question. You answered it, you didn't answer it that way.
Brennan: No, I responded to your query. I'm not going to respond to particular elements of your question, because I think it would be inappropriate for me to do so here. (emphasis added)
Brennan never did give Gowdy the answer he was looking for. But regardless of the distinction Gowdy was trying make, it wouldn't protect Trump one bit from the obstruction of justice case now hanging over his head. That’s a case that mounts daily with continual revelations that both Trump and his aides have conducted a broad and targeted campaign to impede the FBI probe and blunt media reports related to it.
Whatever Trump did or didn’t do personally during the campaign, he has clearly implicated himself in the post-election cover-up by repeatedly pressing intelligence officials to end the Russia inquiry and publicly disavow it.
Watch the Brennan-Gowdy exchange below.