House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that the House Intelligence Committee is now “getting the cooperation necessary” to conduct oversight of the Department of Justice’s Russia investigation, and backed the committee’s effort to learn more about how the department justified it.
“I look forward to the prompt completion of the intelligence committee’s oversight work in this area now that they are getting the cooperation necessary for them to complete their work while protecting sources and methods,” Ryan said.
Ryan issued his statement just as the Justice Department was set to brief lawmakers about a confidential informant who was close to members of Trump’s campaign. Trump has said the use of that informant was an illegal intrusion into his organization, and has labeled the matter “spygate.”
Ryan has backed up efforts by Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., to find out more about the informant and why he was secretly working to collect information from the Trump campaign on behalf of the Justice Department.
Democrats have protested the briefing and said the information about the informant should not be discussed with lawmakers. However, a Democrat joined what was supposed to be a GOP-only brief at noon, and Democrats were expected to participate at the 2 p.m. briefing on Capitol Hill.
Ryan’s full statement follows:
“In 1977, the House of Representatives created a permanent intelligence oversight committee to protect the public and our constitutional liberties. That committee is provided by law with access to our most sensitive secrets and charged with protecting from disclosure anything that would harm the security of this nation. Inherent in the committee’s work is the responsibility to ask tough questions of the executive branch. That is why we have insisted and will continue to insist on Congress’s constitutional right to information necessary for the conduct of oversight.”
“I appreciate the Department arranging today’s briefing. As always, I cannot and will not comment on a classified session. I look forward to the prompt completion of the intelligence committee’s oversight work in this area now that they are getting the cooperation necessary for them to complete their work while protecting sources and methods.”
