FBI director in spotlight on Trump issues
Russia, wire tapping take centre stage
FBI director James Comey will be in the hot seat today facing lawmakers who accuse him of stonewalling Congress, as they demand answers about Donald Trump’s potential Russia ties and the president’s extraordinary accusation of wiretapping by his predecessor.
The two explosive issues have preoccupied Republicans and Democrats alike for weeks, robbing Trump’s administration of a smoother rollout and raising uncomfortable questions about possible collusion between Trump associates and the Kremlin. The stakes for the tycoon-turned-world-leader could hardly be higher.
Comey will testify before the House Intelligence Committee at an open hearing aimed at investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election campaign. National Security Agency director Mike Rogers is also scheduled to testify.
The US intelligence community has blamed Moscow for hacks of the Democratic National Committee last year, and suggested the cyber attacks were aimed at steering the election to a Trump victory. Russia denied involvement in the hacks. Several congressional panels have launched investigations into Russia’s alleged interference, including House and Senate intelligence committees, which have jurisdiction over the nation’s 17 intelligence agencies, and the House and Senate judiciary committees.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also probing Russian interference in the election.
The question remains whether the agency has opened a criminal investigation into possible ties between Trump campaign aides and Russian officials.
Yesterday’s hearing promises to be a very public showdown between the FBI and lawmakers, with the national security world certain to watch whether Comey drops a political bombshell on Washington.
Members of Congress have expressed mounting frustration over the lack of cooperation from the FBI about Russia and Trump’s incendiary wiretap claim, which Barack Obama and an array of other officials have flatly denied.
Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said that he had yet to see any evidence of wiretapping.
Trump has denounced the tumult over the Russia connections as a “total witch hunt”.
The issue mushroomed last month when Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned after it was revealed he misled top officials over his contacts with Russia.
Top officials from both parties have discredited Trump’s wiretapping allegation.
Still, Trump doubled down on his assertion on Friday.
Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he answered a question about the wiretap allegation by referring to the National Security Agency’s reported tapping of Merkel’s phone years ago.
“As far as wiretapping, I guess, by this past administration, at least we have something in common perhaps,” Trump said. — AFP