Donald Trump Russia probe: Congressman investigating alleged links says 'someone will end up in jail'
A Democratic Congressman whose committee is investigating alleged links between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia has predicted that someone will “end up in jail” once the probe is completed.
Joaquin Castro, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which is looking into Moscow’s alleged cyber-meddling in the 2016 election, declined to say which individuals may have been guilty of crimes.
However, speaking on CNN, he predicted that “when all is said and done some people will end up in jail”.
Mr Castro, whose seat centres on the Texas city of San Antonio, is among those who have been questioning investigators and intelligence officials as part of the ongoing inquiry. Last month, FBI Director James Comey testified that there was no evidence to support Mr Trump’s claim that Barack Obama had wiretapped him.
Of the investigation into alleged links between Mr Trump and Russia, he said: “The FBI, as part of our counterintelligence effort, is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 president election.”
He added: “That includes investigating the nature of any links between associates of the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaigning the Russian effort. I cannot say more about what we are doing and whose conduct we are examining.”
As a member of the committee, Mr Castro would not have access to the same amount of classified information as either its Republican chairman, Devin Nunes, or the ranking Democratic member, Adam Schiff.
However, Mr Castro appeared confident when he spoke on Tuesday evening, and suggested that based on what he had heard or seen, criminal charges would likely be brought against some people associated with the Trump campaign.
He did not provide any details, and Republicans and supporters of Mr Trump will likely claim that Mr Castro was simply seeking to take political advantage of the situation.
Mr Castro was asked whether he had seen any hard evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“I guess, I would say this - that my impression is that I would not be surprised that when all is said and done, that some people end up in jail,” he said.
Asked how high in the Trump campaign he was referring to, he said it was “yet to be determined”. He said he could not comment on whether those who might face criminal charges were serving as part of the administration now, or had simply worked for the New York tycoon during the campaign.
Asked to confirm that he was talking about more than one person, Mr Castro said: “That’s my impression, yes.”
