Rep. Adam Schiff said Thursday that the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s uranium deal is purely political.

“This looks a lot to me like a redux of Benghazi. This investigation is starting again for political purpose. This is another investigation of Hillary Clinton, long after she’s no longer a presidential candidate, [and] no longer the secretary of state,” Mr. Schiff, California Democrat, said on CNN. “Apparently, there’s more interest in what happened seven years ago with Secretary Clinton than there is in the Russia investigation, and that’s quite by design.”

Mr. Schiff, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said the investigation was started “in bad faith” and is merely a relitigation of the past.

House Republicans launched an investigation into possible attempts by Russian officials to incentivize Mrs. Clinton to approve their purchase of large amounts of uranium in the United States. Late Wednesday, the Department of Justice lifted a gag order so a former FBI informant with possible knowledge of the deal could speak with congressional investigators. The informant was previously barred from speaking due to confidentiality agreements.

But Mr. Schiff says this is merely a tactic to distract from the Russia investigation into President Trump and is purely partisan.

“When you begin an investigation for a partisan reason, it leads to a partisan conclusion,” he said. “This deal was known about at the time, was controversial at the time. I’m not sure why we’re relitigating it all over again.”

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.