The following article by Eric Lutz was posted on the Mic.com website July 18, 2018:
Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence are accusing their Republican counterparts of having blocked them from interviewing alleged Russian spy Maria Butina, who was arrested Sunday and charged over apparent attempts to infiltrate American political organizations to advance Moscow’s interests.
“More likely to come on this,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel, tweeted Monday. “No wonder GOP members of HPSCI refused our request to bring her and others in.”
Republicans on the panel shut down the committee’s Russia probe in March, claiming it found “no evidence of collusion, coordination or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians.” Now, Democrats are saying the charges against Butina show Republicans ended the investigation “prematurely” — and that the strange case of the 29-year-old spy was just one of many loose ends left unresolved when the inquiry ended.