Top Democrat warns Sessions move could be 'bigger threat to our democracy' than Russia

— -- Rep. Adam Schiff today slammed Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to open the door for the Department of Justice to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s role in helping approve the sale of American uranium stockpiles to a Russian company — a deal known as Uranium One.

“The threat to our democracy right now comes less from the Russians and more from the internal damage that we are doing to ourselves,” Schiff, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC News’ “Powerhouse Politics.”

“If Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department go along with this, it will be an obliteration of independence of the Justice Department. We will be nothing more than the countries that we criticize where the winning party tries to prosecute the losing party,” he said.

Schiff’s comments come on the heels of Sessions’ testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday -- an appearance that included tough questions from lawmakers about the Trump campaign’s contact with Russian officials and the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 elections.

Schiff sees the push to investigate the Uranium One deal as a move aimed at deflecting any attention away from Sessions’ involvement in the Russia probes by multiple congressional committees.

Schiff said Trump campaign associates have a “selective memory” when it comes to communications with the Russians. On the question of a March 2016 event that Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos and Sessions all attended, Sessions stated that "I did not recall this event, which occurred 18 months before my testimony of a few weeks ago."

“You see people around the president and his campaign that have very selective memories about the facts of their interactions with Russians -- during the campaign and after campaign,” he added.

Sessions’ testimony on Monday “is very much a part of that pattern” Schiff said.

Schiff said he believes that Trump actively and knowingly works to “deny, obfuscate, deflect” any ties to Russia.

However, the lawmaker sees it as a “mistake” to talk about the impeachment of President Trump, “We haven't finished the investigations yet. Bob Mueller has not finished his work yet ... I don’t think it is wise to do this prematurely ... I think we ought to let the investigations run their course.”

Six House Democrats introduced five articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump today. Most notably for his obstruction of justice for interfering in the Russia investigation. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, told reporters at a news conference on Capitol Hill today "Article II Section IV of the Constitution of the United States of America was drafted for a time such as this and a president such as Trump."