The House Intelligence Committee has begun its first public hearing on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, with FBI Director James B. Comey and National Security Agency head Michael S. Rogers set to testify
The two senior officials will likely face questions about possible collusion between associates of President Trump and the Kremlin.
The hearing comes amid the controversy fired up by Trump two weeks ago when he tweeted, without providing evidence, that President Barack Obama ordered his phones tapped at Trump Tower.
omey is expected publicly to debunk that allegation, according to the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), following a parade of current and former senior officials who have said there is no evidence of wiretaps on Trump or Trump Tower.
Comey privately told lawmakers last week that there was no basis to the charge.
“The fact that Russia hacked U.S. election-related databases comes as no shock to this committee, we have been closely monitoring Russia’s aggressions for years,” the committee’s chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), said in an opening statement. “However, while the indications of Russian measures targeting the U.S. presidential election are deeply troubling, one benefit is already clear – it has focused wide attention on the pressing threats posed by the Russian autocrat. In recent years, Committee members have issue repeated and forceful please for stronger action against Russian belligerence. But the Obama administration was committee to the notion, against all evidence, that we could ‘reset’ relations with Putin, and it routinely ignored our warnings.”
Nunes said he hoped the hearing would focus on several key question, including what actions did Russia undertake against the U.S. during the 2016 election and did anyone from a political campaign conspire in these activities? He also wants to know if the communications of any campaign officials or associates were subject to any improper surveillance. “Let me be clear,” he said. “We know there was not a wiretap on Trump Tower. However, it’s still possible that other surveillance activities were used against President Trump and his associates.”
Finally, Nunes said he is focused on leaks of classified information to the media. “We aim to determine who has leaked or facilitated leaks of classified information so these individuals can be brought to justice,” he said.
In his opening statement, Schiff said, “we will never know whether the Russian intervention was determinative in such a close election. Indeed it is unknowlabe in a campaign in which so many small changes could have dictated a different result. More importantly, and for the purposes of our investigation, it simply does not matter. What does matter is this: the Russians successfully meddled in our democracy, and our intelligence agencies have concluded that they will do so again.”
He added: “Most important, we do not yet know whether the Russians had the help of U.S. citizens, including people associated with the Trump campaign. Many of Trump’s campaign personnel, including the president himself, have ties to Russia and Russian interests. This is, of course, no crime. On the other hand, if the Trump campaign, or anybody associated with it, aided or abetted the Russians, it would not only be a serious crime, it would also represent one of the most shocking betrayals of our democracy in history.”
Just hours before the start of the hearing, Trump posted a series of tweets claiming Democrats “made up” the allegations of Russian contacts in an attempt to discredit the GOP during the presidential campaign. Trump also urged federal investigators to shift their focus to probe disclosures of classified material.
“The real story that Congress, the FBI and all others should be looking into is the leaking of Classified information,” Trump wrote early Monday. “Must find leaker now!”
On Sunday, Nunes, who served on Trump’s transition team, also countered the president’s assertion. “Was there a physical wiretap of Trump Tower? No, but there never was …,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
The hearing comes amid the controversy fired up by Trump two weeks ago when he tweeted, without providing evidence, that President Barack Obama ordered his phones tapped at Trump Tower.
omey is expected publicly to debunk that allegation, according to the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), following a parade of current and former senior officials who have said there is no evidence of wiretaps on Trump or Trump Tower.
Comey privately told lawmakers last week that there was no basis to the charge.
“The fact that Russia hacked U.S. election-related databases comes as no shock to this committee, we have been closely monitoring Russia’s aggressions for years,” the committee’s chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), said in an opening statement. “However, while the indications of Russian measures targeting the U.S. presidential election are deeply troubling, one benefit is already clear – it has focused wide attention on the pressing threats posed by the Russian autocrat. In recent years, Committee members have issue repeated and forceful please for stronger action against Russian belligerence. But the Obama administration was committee to the notion, against all evidence, that we could ‘reset’ relations with Putin, and it routinely ignored our warnings.”
Nunes said he hoped the hearing would focus on several key question, including what actions did Russia undertake against the U.S. during the 2016 election and did anyone from a political campaign conspire in these activities? He also wants to know if the communications of any campaign officials or associates were subject to any improper surveillance. “Let me be clear,” he said. “We know there was not a wiretap on Trump Tower. However, it’s still possible that other surveillance activities were used against President Trump and his associates.”
Finally, Nunes said he is focused on leaks of classified information to the media. “We aim to determine who has leaked or facilitated leaks of classified information so these individuals can be brought to justice,” he said.
In his opening statement, Schiff said, “we will never know whether the Russian intervention was determinative in such a close election. Indeed it is unknowlabe in a campaign in which so many small changes could have dictated a different result. More importantly, and for the purposes of our investigation, it simply does not matter. What does matter is this: the Russians successfully meddled in our democracy, and our intelligence agencies have concluded that they will do so again.”
He added: “Most important, we do not yet know whether the Russians had the help of U.S. citizens, including people associated with the Trump campaign. Many of Trump’s campaign personnel, including the president himself, have ties to Russia and Russian interests. This is, of course, no crime. On the other hand, if the Trump campaign, or anybody associated with it, aided or abetted the Russians, it would not only be a serious crime, it would also represent one of the most shocking betrayals of our democracy in history.”
“The real story that Congress, the FBI and all others should be looking into is the leaking of Classified information,” Trump wrote early Monday. “Must find leaker now!”
On Sunday, Nunes, who served on Trump’s transition team, also countered the president’s assertion. “Was there a physical wiretap of Trump Tower? No, but there never was …,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
