House Democrats clamoring for an independent investigation into whether the Trump administration has a secret relationship with the Russian government say House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes should not be in charge of the effort.
“It’s crazy,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said at a press conference called by the Democrats about their opposition to Trump administration actions. “The public needs someone they can trust. They need something that is independent, not partisan, so we can get to the facts. Our colleague from California said he doesn’t plan on doing an investigation.”
Nunes and the House intelligence panel are investigating Russia’s hacking of Democratic emails prior to the 2016 election. But he has not specifically pledged to examine calls that took place between ousted national security adviser Mike Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the United States, which took place before Trump took office, and which may have included talk about recent sanctions.
A spokesman for Nunes said the House Intelligence Committee will continue to investigate any intelligence or counter-intelligence issues involving Russia and follow the facts wherever they lead. The only reservation the chairman has is having the committee access the transcript of Gen. Flynn’s phone calls to the Russian ambassador, if it exists because, of the extreme sensitivity of accessing raw intelligence on a U.S. citizen.
But Democrats want an investigation into whether President Trump ordered Flynn to discuss sanctions with the Russians and whether the Trump administration has inappropriate ties to the Russian government, and argue that the GOP is stonewalling the investigation.
“If you are not willing to take the first step in looking into this, what are you afraid will come out of this?” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Democrats have been holding regular news briefings to denounce Trump and are connecting the administration policies they deeply oppose to the daily drumbeat of scandalous news about the administration. Pelosi wants “an independent, outside commission with subpoena power” to investigate Trump.
Trump has denied any relationship with Russia and there is no evidence suggesting a connection.
But Pelosi said Trump’s relationship with the country “could be personal, it could be financial,” and said Trump has exhibited behavior “that is very dangerous to the national security of our country, including poor judgement in appointing Mike Flynn in the first place.”
Democrats said President Obama’s executive order temporarily banning travel and refugees from seven nations with vetting problems has also put the nation’s security in danger, along with recent Department of Homeland Security arrests of illegal immigrants with criminal records.
