House Intelligence Committee Ignores Common Sense, Prematurely Ends Russia Investigation
March 12, 2018
House Intelligence Committee Ignores Common Sense, Prematurely Ends Russia Investigation
Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Public Citizen
Note: Republicans on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee hastily announced today that they have found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia and that the committee will shut down its yearlong investigation. This is contrary to public will and despite unanswered questions that are central to the investigation.
Today’s announcement by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee is outrageous and ignores common sense. It’s particularly perplexing as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation continues to make progress in getting to the bottom of Russian attacks on our elections and democracy. House Republicans seem determined to be willfully ignorant, claiming that there is nothing left to discover despite the evidence to the contrary.
The Republicans’ termination of their own investigation follows months of various conservative members of Congress lobbing verbal attacks at Mueller and his investigation. We expect Trump and his allies to seize on this decision to undermine Mueller. But the defense of our democracy requires that the special counsel be permitted to proceed unimpeded, and that today’s decision must not be used as a false pretext to end the Mueller investigation.
It is completely unsurprising, but still mind-boggling, that the president of the United States and his allies in the U.S. House are more concerned with concocting groundless attacks on American law enforcement agencies than standing up to fight foreign election interference.
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