Reich writes: "What happened to the promised investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election? The House intelligence committee has been plagued by infighting and missteps. While the Senate investigative committee has pledged a thorough probe, it's done little so far - no high-profile hearings, until very recently no full-time staff, and its few part-time staffers have no investigative experience or expertise with Russia."
Former Clinton labor secretary Robert Reich. (photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star)
29 April 17
hat happened to the promised investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election? The House intelligence committee has been plagued by infighting and missteps. While the Senate investigative committee has pledged a thorough probe, it’s done little so far -- no high-profile hearings, until very recently no full-time staff, and its few part-time staffers have no investigative experience or expertise with Russia.
Why? Look at history. When the parties are intensely polarized, congressional majorities investigate only when the White House is held by the other party. When different parties control the executive and legislative branches, congressional investigations multiply. But when the same party controls the White House and Congress, congressional investigations stall or disappear.
The period from 1898 to 1936 — from the Gilded Age to the depths of the Depression — was, like today, an era of deep partisan polarization. And since the Reagan era began in 1981, partisan polarization has increased steadily. In polarized eras (both in the early 20th century and today), when one party held both branches of government, the president’s partisan allies have routinely ignored calls for serious investigations.
In other words, don’t expect Republicans to investigate Trump’s Russian connection. It will only happen if and when Congress is flipped in 2018. Or if and when the intelligence agencies produce (or leak) a smoking gun.
What do you think?
