How many Russian probes does the US need?

Democrats push for new commission to look to political future

WASHINGTON — After the appointment of a special counsel to study Russian influence in the U.S. election the day before, Washington faced a new question Thursday: How many different Russia investigations does the country need?

Even as they praised the selection of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel, congressional Democrats argued that he’s not enough. They’re still pushing for an independent commission to investigate Russian interference in November’s election and con- nections between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The commission, outlined in a bill written by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Pleasanton, would be in addition to investigations by Mueller, the FBI and both houses of Congress. For those counting at home, that’s four different, existing probes of roughly the same topics.

Congress should launch a fifth, Swalwell contended in an email Thursday. “This is only half of the solution,” he said of the special counsel.

“As Mueller oversees an investigation of past crimes, we need a bipartisan-appointed, independent commission to investigate what happened, make a credible public report, and come up with reforms to prevent future crimes.”

The commission would include 12 members, ap- pointed by Republican and Democratic leaders.

There was widespread bipartisan acclaim on Thursday for Mueller, who served as U.S. attorney in San Francisco before being tapped to head the FBI by President George W. Bush in 2001. He was appointed special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Wednesday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called Mueller a “respected public servant of the highest integrity.” Rosenstein “couldn’t have picked a better man to do that job,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S. C., told reporters.

Even some of the administration’s biggest critics applauded. “It was a surprisingly good choice,” Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said in an interview with this newspaper. “I believe him to be a consummate professional.”

One of the few in Washington to criticize Mueller’s appointment was Trump himself. The appointment of a special counsel “divides the country,” Trump said at a joint news conference Thursday with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. “I respect the move, but the entire thing has been a witch hunt.”

Several Republican members of Congress from California on Thursday didn’t respond to requests for comment about the independent commission bill.

As of early Thursday night, 190 members of Congress had signed onto a socalled discharge petition to force a vote on the bill — but only one Republican, Walter Jones of North Carolina. The Democrats need 23 Republican signatures to force a vote.

Pelosi threw down the gauntlet on Thursday. “The Republicans have been complicit in what looks like a stonewall of not wanting the public to know the facts,” she said. “I’m saying to our Republican colleagues: What do you have to hide?”

Harris pointed out that an independent commission would likely have a different focus than Mueller’s investigation or those run by Congress or the FBI.

“There is an aspect of them that is looking to some extent in the rearview mirror,” Harris said. “We do also, as a government, need to look forward ... looking at what happened and figuring out what we can do to prevent it from happening again.”

That, she said, could involve recommending new cybersecurity protections or election protocols. “I have no reason to believe that Russians or any of our adversaries wouldn’t try to do this again,” Harris added.

Democrats also argue that Mueller, for all his independence, is still in the Trump administration chain of command and Rosenstein could dismiss him for wrongdoing.

But Richard BenVeniste, a former member of the 9/11 Commission, said he thought Mueller’s appointment made an independent Russia commission less critical. A commission proposing reforms would be more effective if launched later on, once partisan tensions die down, he argued.

“This situation is even more fraught with political partisanship than the 9/11 Commission,” Ben-Veniste said.