Dem Rep: No ‘Specific Evidence’ of Collusion Between Trump and Russian-Linked Facebook Ads

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Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier (Calif.) said Wednesday there is no "specific evidence" of collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russian-linked Facebook ads.

CNN's Jake Tapper asked Speier, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, about the subject on "The Lead." CNN reported Wednesday that a number of Russian-linked ads on Facebook targeted Michigan and Wisconsin, which Trump flipped from blue to red in 2016.

"Do you know of any evidence right now that anyone in the United States, whether they were associated with the Trump campaign or not, helped these Russian operatives with information about where to target these ads or voters to target?" Tapper asked.

"We don't have any specific evidence," Speier said. "But these were sophisticated persons who were doing the targeting."

Speier also said that Russia's attempts at interference in American politics was part of a long-term strategy on Russia's part to try to infiltrate and sway American politics.

"Now the chair and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee said they were intended to sow chaos and could have affected theoretically the Clinton campaign and the Trump campaign," Tapper said. "Does that suggest to you or do you believe that Russia was not necessarily trying to boost candidate Trump?"

"I don't know that we can say that definitively one way or the other," Speier said.

Speier said it was part of Russia's strategy to bring division into the politics of other countries in order to weaken them and again said that it was part of their long-term strategy.

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