USA TODAY International Edition
House Intelligence issues subpoenas in Russia probe
Despite FBI investigation, efforts are ramping up on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON The House Intelligence Committee issued subpoenas Wednesday for testimony, documents and business records from former national security adviser Michael Flynn and President Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, as part of the panel’s investigation into Russian interference in last year’s presidential election.
“As part of our ongoing investigation into Russian active measures during the 2016 campaign, today we approved subpoenas for several individuals for testimony, personal documents and business records,” said a joint statement from Reps. Mike Conaway, R- Texas, and Adam Schiff, D- Calif., who are leading the House committee’s inquiry. “We hope and expect that anyone called to testify or provide documents will comply with that request, so that we may gain all the information within the scope of our investigation. We will continue to pursue this investigation wherever the facts may lead.”
The subpoenas are evidence of a ramped- up and expanding investigation in Congress. The House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee are the dominant committees leading the congressional probes.
The latest committee action shows that lawmakers have not given up their own Russia investigations despite a separate FBI probe led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, who was appointed as special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on May 17.
In addition to approving subpoenas for Flynn and Cohen as individuals, the committee approved them for their companies, Flynn Intel Group LLC and Michael D. Cohen & Associates PC.
In an action described by congressional sources as “separate” from the committee’s Russia probe, Chairman Devin Nunes, RCalif., issued subpoenas to the FBI, the CIA and the National Security Agency for information about how the names of Trump campaign officials were “unmasked” in classified intelligence reports from those agencies. Specifically, the subpoenas issued by Nunes seek information about requests made by former CIA director John Brennan and former national security adviser Susan Rice for the campaign aides’ names to be disclosed in those classified reports.
A senior committee aide who was not authorized to speak publicly said Nunes issued those subpoenas without agreement from Democrats.
Nunes stepped aside in April from the Russia probe, which is now being led by Conaway. Nunes had come under fire for speaking publicly about classified surveillance reports he reviewed at the White House.
The “unmasking” issue has been raised by the White House and by Trump supporters as a suggestion that the investigation has been politically motivated. But Democrats have largely dismissed this issue as an attempt to divert attention from possible collusion by Trump campaign officials with the Russians.
Cohen, Trump’s outspoken personal lawyer, acknowledged Tuesday that he is resisting a request from congressional investigators seeking information from him about possible contacts with Russia. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday about the House committee’s latest action.
Cohen’s name surfaced last year in an unsubstantiated dossier prepared by a former British intelligence agent, alleging that the lawyer attended a meeting in Prague to discuss Russia’s targeting of Democrats for hacking operations.
“To date, there has not been a single witness, document or piece of evidence linking me to this fake Russian conspiracy,” Cohen said in a text message to USA TODAY on Tuesday. “This is not surprising to me because there is none! I declined the invitation ( by the Senate and House Intelligence panels) to participate as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered.”