Connect with us

American News

Senate Judiciary’s Russia probe veers into partisanship

Published

on

WASHINGTON — The once-bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election has broken along partisan lines, with the committee’s top Democrat contacting witnesses independently and asking for a broad swath of new information.

After months of negotiations with Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley stalled, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein sent five letters of her own on Friday to witnesses and companies involved in the probe. The letters were sent to the White House, Facebook, Twitter and President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. There is also a letter to Cambridge Analytica, a data firm working for Trump’s campaign during the 2016 election.

The inquiries are designed to get more information about whether the Russian meddling was in any way connected with Trump’s campaign. Feinstein indicated this week that negotiations had broken down with Grassley, who has also sought to investigate issues surrounding Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The two senators have been talking since the summer about how to handle several witnesses, including whether to subpoena Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and whether to call Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. for a public hearing.

Both men were involved in a June 2016 campaign meeting with Russians. Trump Jr. spoke to committee staff behind closed doors in September.

As a member of the minority party, Feinstein could have a hard time getting responses. But she is trying anyway, asking the social media companies in particular for a wide range of information, some of which they have already declined to turn over because of privacy concerns. Facebook and Twitter, along with Google, will testify before a panel subcommittee on Tuesday about the Russian meddling.

In the White House letter, Feinstein asks White House counsel Don McGahn for a range of documents related to fired FBI Director James Comey. Going beyond a May request for documents she made with Grassley, which was not answered, Feinstein is asking for several other letters and memos surrounding his firing and about other figures key to the panel’s probe.

A release from Feinstein’s office said the letters were the “first tranche” and that “additional requests are expected to be sent in the coming weeks.”

Grassley has been sending his own letters in the Russia probe, including to Russians and people connected to Trump who were in the June 2016 meeting. Unlike letters sent earlier in the year, they were from Grassley alone and not Feinstein.

Feinstein has also been working on legislation with Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, another Democrat on the committee. The bill hasn’t yet been finalized but would “potentially would make crystal clear that working with America’s enemies to undermine American elections is a crime,” according to Blumenthal.

Blumenthal said Friday that he believes the investigation will continue, and “my hope is that we will all eventually come together.”

Also Friday, the House intelligence committee announced that it will hold a hearing Nov. 2 with Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. The hearing is listed as “open in a closed space,” which a committee spokeswoman said means that it will be closed to press, but a transcript will eventually be released.

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maria in Vancouver

Lifestyle2 weeks ago

Nobody Wants This…IRL (In Real Life)

Just like everyone else who’s binged on Netflix series, “Nobody Wants This” — a romcom about a newly single rabbi...

Lifestyle3 weeks ago

Family Estrangement: Why It’s Okay

Family estrangement is the absence of a previously long-standing relationship between family members via emotional or physical distancing to the...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Becoming Your Best Version

By Matter Laurel-Zalko As a woman, I’m constantly evolving. I’m constantly changing towards my better version each year. Actually, I’m...

Lifestyle2 months ago

The True Power of Manifestation

I truly believe in the power of our imagination and that what we believe in our lives is an actual...

Maria in Vancouver3 months ago

DECORATE YOUR HOME 101

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Our home interiors are an insight into our brains and our hearts. It is our own collaboration...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Guide to Planning a Wedding in 2 Months

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Are you recently engaged and find yourself in a bit of a pickle because you and your...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Staying Cool and Stylish this Summer

By Matte Laurel-Zalko I couldn’t agree more when the great late Ella Fitzgerald sang “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Ageing Gratefully and Joyfully

My 56th trip around the sun is just around the corner! Whew. Wow. Admittedly, I used to be afraid of...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

My Love Affair With Pearls

On March 18, 2023, my article, The Power of Pearls was published. In that article, I wrote about the history...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

7 Creative Ways to Propose!

Sometime in April 2022, my significant other gave me a heads up: he will be proposing to me on May...