House Intelligence Trump-Russia Probe Resumes Today

By Bartholomew D Sullivan, USA TODAY

02 May 17

 

he stalled investigation by the House intelligence committee into Russian meddling in the 2016 appears to be back on track, according to a committee statement on Friday.

The committee's ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, tweeted Friday that the committee had sent a letter inviting FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers to appear before the panel May 2 during a closed hearing.

A second letter was sent to former CIA director John Brennan, former director of national intelligence James Clapper and former deputy attorney general Sally Yates inviting them to an open hearing that will be scheduled sometime after May 2. Clapper was the first in the intelligence community to openly contest President Trump's still-unproven claim that President Obama was "wire tapping" Trump Tower prior to November's election.

Yates informed White House counsel Donald McGahn that former national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled Vice President Pence about his dealings with the Russian ambassador during the transition. She was fired by Trump after she provided guidance to U.S. attorneys across the country not to defend Trump's initial attempt at a travel ban restricting immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries.

The House committee has had a rocky tenure since it decided to take up the probe of alleged Russian meddling in last year's election. The Senate Intelligence Committee is also conducting an investigation and an FBI review began last summer. The House committee's chairman, Devin Nunes, R-Calif., recused himself from the Russia probe after he was shown documents he said established that Trump associates were caught up in incidental surveillance by the intelligence community but did not share the information with other members of the committee.

The House effort is now being overseen by Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, with assistance from former prosecutors Reps. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Tom Rooney, R-Fla.

A Trump campaign foreign policy expert, Carter Page, who had extensive experience in Russia and delivered a speech in Moscow denouncing the Obama administration's policies there last year, was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant last August shortly after he disassociated himself from the campaign, according to published reports.

Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who had extensive business and political dealings with the Vladimir Putin-friendly leadership of the Ukraine, including its strongman Viktor F. Yanukovych, before it was toppled, has offered to testify before the committee. That offer has not been acted upon publicly so far.

The last public hearings in the probe were held March 30 by the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose chairman, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and ranking Democrat, Sen Mark Warner of Virginia, have vowed a thorough, bipartisan investigation.