Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley defended his panel’s work investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Speaking Thursday morning at a hearing, Grassley said he was “disappointed” other lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee claimed he “was not doing enough” to address Russian meddling.
“I am extremely disappointed in my colleagues for not taking the simple step of talking to me. No one approached me about this topic before with any request, suggestion or recommendation,” Grassley lamented.
Last month, Democrats wrote a letter to Grassley urging him to hold public hearings related to its Russia investigation, including hearings during which Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner testify.
The Iowa Republican hit back Thursday, listing numerous hearings the committee has had during its probe — including a May 2017 hearing on Russian interference, a July 2017 hearing on the Foreign Agents Registration Act and an October 2017 hearing in with Facebook, Google and Twitter.
Grassley also discussed legislation he has introduced, including bill that would help the Justice Department prosecute people or entities representing foreign interests that do not properly register in the U.S. That FARA bill is under mark up in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he noted.
Grassley mentioned none of the other committee members “identified for me any Title 18 provision–or any other law that would be in our jurisdiction–that could be added or supplemented to address election meddling.”
“I’m planning on having a hearing to explore that very topic. We’ll see if law enforcement needs any other tools to prosecute people who want to interfere with our elections,” Grassley revealed.
Grassley also criticized Democrats for not being forthcoming with information regarding Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that was hired to create the dossier alleging connections between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“But, the other side is well aware of the non-cooperation I’ve received from them regarding Fusion GPS, the DNC and the Clinton campaign. All of these entities have dirty fingers if not whole hands involved in the Russian collusion matter,” he said.
Trump Jr. has met voluntarily with Judiciary Committee staff, but the Democrats said he has refused to give the panel documents related to a July 2017 statement about a June 2016 meeting he attended at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer. Kushner, meanwhile, has declined to meet with committee staff to discuss the Trump Tower meeting.
The committee has interviewed five witnesses about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, including Trump Jr., Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin, businessman Ike Kaveladze, British publicist Rob Goldstone, who helped set up the meeting, and translator Anatoli Samochornov.
Grassley said last month he now wants to release the transcripts of those interviews, as the part of the investigation related to the Trump Tower meeting had concluded.
Earlier this week, the House Intelligence Committee concluded its Russia investigation; the Senate Intelligence Committee’s probe is still ongoing but is likely “near the end.”
