Trump faces fallout over Comey appeal, intelligence sharing
More Republicans back independent probe of Trump-Russia ties
US outrage over Trump’s disclosures as US politicians whipping up “anti-Russian sentiment.”
Asked what he thinks of the Trump presidency, Putin said it is up to the American people to judge but his performance can only be rated “only when he’s allowed to work at full capacity,” implying that someone is hampering Trump’s efforts.
Trump left the White House on Wednesday morning to head to Connecticut where he was scheduled to give the commencement address at the US Coast Guard Academy.
As for Comey, whom Trump fired last week, the FBI director wrote in a memo after a February meeting at the White House that the new president had asked him to shut down the FBI’s investigation of Flynn and his Russian contacts, said a person who had read the memo. The Flynn investigation was part of a broader probe into Russian interference in last year’s presidential election.
Comey’s memo, an apparent effort to create a paper trail of his contacts with the White House, would be the clearest evidence to date that the president has tried to influence the investigation.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Republican chairman of the House oversight committee, sent a letter to the FBI on Tuesday requesting that it turn over all documents and recordings that detail communications between Comey and Trump. He said he would give the FBI a week and then “if we need a subpoena, we’ll do it.”
The panel’s top Democrat, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, a constant Trump critic, called the allegation of Trump pressure on Comey “explosive” and said “it appears like a textbook case of criminal obstruction of justice.”
Spurred by the FBI chief’s memo, a small but growing number of Republican lawmakers called on Wednesday for an independent probe of possible collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
However, most Republicans have said the current FBI probe and investigations in the Republican-led Congress are sufficient.
House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan stuck to that line and told reporters on Wednesday he still has confidence in Trump. Ryan also insisted the Trump controversies were not paralyzing Republican legislative efforts in Congress.
“We need the facts,” Ryan said. “It is obvious there are some people out there who want to harm the president. But we have an obligation to carry out our oversight regardless of which party is in the White House.”
Yet, a few Republicans have began to call for an independent probe.
“If in fact what was in the memo is true, it’s very concerning, and we need to get to the bottom of that,” Republican Adam Kinzinger, a member of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNN.
“I think we are in the position now where it’s time for an independent commission or a special prosecutor or whatever.”
The latest developments have overshadowed the policy goals of Trump’s Republican Party in Congress, including major healthcare legislation and tax cuts.