California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff says he plans on sending a criminal referral to the Department of Justice aimed at Blackwater founder Erik Prince regarding perjury Tuesday.
The House Judiciary Chairman said at a Washington Post Live event that Prince lied to Congress in November 2017 about a meeting in the Seychelles islands with a Russian financier with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the 2016 election.
But Prince, a former Navy Seal, told Congress otherwise, saying it was not a planned meeting, which contradicts what special counsel Robert Mueller’s report found. The report found Prince previously set up the meeting with the Russian financier, Kirill Dmitriev, nine days before Trump’s inauguration, The Washington Examiner reported.
“The evidence is so weighty that the Justice Department needs to consider this,” Schiff said. “I do believe there is very strong evidence that he willingly misled the committee,” he continued.
WATCH:
.@repadamschiff says he plans to file a criminal referral with the Justice Department today on President Donald Trump’s associate Erik Prince, alleging that Prince willingly misled the House Intelligence Committee. https://t.co/FBWpswZQW9 #postlive pic.twitter.com/rkvhOPQBiH
— Washington Post Live (@postlive) April 30, 2019
Erik Prince, former Navy Seal and founder of private military contractor Blackwater USA, arrives to testify during a closed-door House Select Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
Before the Mueller report was released, Prince’s speech at a Wisconsin college was canceled in March after students prevented him from speaking, banging drums and stacking chairs on stage. (RELATED: Students Stack Chairs To Block Erik Prince From Speaking At College)
Schiff said he would be making the “criminal referral today.”
Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.