GOP won’t commit to Flynn inquiry
Those investigating alleged election influence can look into former adviser, Republicans say
Republican leaders in Congress refused to commit Tuesday to opening an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, suggesting instead that lawmakers looking into alleged Russian influence in last year’s elections have the authority to investigate Flynn if warranted.
“The Intelligence Committee is already looking at Russian involvement in our election,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “They can look into whatever they choose to.”
Flynn acknowledged in his resignation letter that he had not fully informed Vice President Pence of his conversations with the Russian ambassador before Donald Trump was sworn in as president. Pence had gone on television to defend Flynn, saying Flynn had not discussed U.S. sanctions in his calls with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a member of the Intelligence Committee, said there are “a number of unanswered questions” the panel will look at in regard to Flynn. He said the committee would talk about those questions this week.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, told The Dallas
Morning News that the intelligence committees were the appropriate place for such a probe, and having Flynn testify “would certainly be an option.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, RWis., was more circumspect. “I think we need to get all of that information before we prejudge anything,” he said.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the White House would comply with the law, but he did not commit to cooperating with a congressional probe.
“I think the president feels very confident the review that was conducted by White House counsel was very thorough and concluded ... that there was nothing wrong,” Spicer said. “People are free to do what they wish, but I think they will find exactly what the president first believed and what the White House counsel concluded.”
The House Intelligence Committee is also looking into Russian tampering. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said, “Alleged contacts and any others the Trump campaign may have had with the Kremlin are the subject of the House Intelligence Committee’s ongoing investigation. Moreover, the Trump administration has yet to be forthcoming about who was aware of Flynn’s conversations with the ambassador and whether he was acting on the instructions of the president or any other officials or with their knowledge.”
Jack Langer, spokesman for Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said the panel “will continue to investigate any intelligence or counterintelligence issues involving Russia and follow the facts wherever they lead.”
North Carolina Republican Reps. Mark Meadows and Mark Walker, members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, suggested an investigation of Flynn may be premature during C-SPAN appearances Tuesday morning. “I have not seen the evidence that there is any kind of collaboration that would require an investigation at this point,” Walker said.
Even Sen. John McCain, RAriz., who has not hesitated to criticize the Trump administration’s relationship with Russia, was not ready to call for a separate investigation of Flynn. “It’s too early yet to draw conclusions except that there are serious questions that need to be answered,” McCain said.
Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, a leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which Meadows chairs, said, “I want the Intelligence Committee to look into it.” He said that if Nunes is not pursuing an investigation, “maybe he’s already looked at the transcripts (of Flynn’s calls) and realized there is no there there.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called for an independent investigation with executive authority to pursue potential criminal violations.
He said it is not enough for the Senate Intelligence Committee to investigate the Flynn incident because it has no legal authority to prosecute anyone.
Schumer said Attorney General Jeff Sessions must recuse himself from the investigation because Justice Department rules prohibit someone with political ties to the people being investigated from conducting the investigation. He pointed out that Sessions was involved in Trump’s presidential campaign, serving as a national security adviser.
“If an investigation is not independent, non-partisan and, most of all, transparent, there is no guarantee this administration will ... take the decisive actions needed to keep us safe,” Schumer said.