The Senate Intelligence Committee asked Russia-friendly Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., about various meetings and trips he’s had to Russia the past several years as part of the committee’s Russia probe, according to a new report.
Rohrabacher said his meetings and trips to Russia were related to his position as chairman of the House Foreign Affairs’ subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats. Upon leaving the private interview with the panel, Rohrabacher said he’s an “open book” concerning his history with Russia, CNN reported.
“They were just trying to detail the different things I’ve done with the Russians,” Rohrabacher said. “I’m the chairman of the subcommittee that is the point person on our relations with Russia over these last five years. I’ve had a lot of meetings and codels [congressional delegation trips], and they were trying to make sure they understood.”
Rohrabacher raised eyebrows when he meet with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange over the summer, after which he said a “rendezvous” would be set up for him to tell President Trump the information he had gleaned from Assange. Assange has been been living in asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012.
Rohrabacher acknowledged that the panel asked about his meeting with Assange when pressed if the topic had been broached.
“Obviously, they were covering everything they wanted to cover,” he said.
Last month, it was revealed special counsel Robert Mueller was investigating a meeting Rohrabacher attended in Sept. 2016 where former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and his son, along with business partners Kian and Brian McCauley, were all present.
Flynn was removed from his post at the White House earlier this year after it was revealed he misled the administration about his sanctions-related communications with the Russians, and pleaded guilty at the beginning of this month for lying to the FBI in January about his contacts with former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
“It was really a very open, nice meeting,” Rohrabacher said regarding his meeting before the Senate panel. “I’ve got no worries or anything.”
An attorney accompanied Rohrabacher to his meeting with the committee. Additionally, Rohrabacher is anticipated to appear before the House Intelligence Committee within the next few days.
