Tag: House Intelligence committee

Lawmakers dispute ‘vindication’ for Trump in Intel memo

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hill website February 4, 2018:

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said: “I think it is fair to ask the deputy attorney general, ‘What did you know at the time you signed one of the applications?'” Credit: AP Photo

Democrats on Sunday argued that the release of a controversial memo accusing the Justice Department of surveillance abuses does not vindicate President Trump in the Russia investigation — and Republicans are also avoiding declarations of Trump’s exoneration.

Trump made the claim that the memo “totally vindicates” him in the Russia investigation in a Saturday tweet following the memo’s release the day before.

But Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told ABC on Sunday that he doesn’t believe the memo vindicates Trump. Several other Republicans argued that the memo was not about the ongoing investigation. Continue reading “Lawmakers dispute ‘vindication’ for Trump in Intel memo”

Devin Nunes Won’t Say If He Worked With White House on Anti-FBI Memo

The following article by Betsy Woodruff and Spencer Ackerman was posted on the Daily Beast website January 30, 2018:

The House intel committee GOP leader refused to answer behind closed doors if he coordinated with the president’s team on his report blasting Rosenstein, Comey, and McCabe.

Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty

The Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee refused to answer when a colleague asked him if he had coordinated his incendiary surveillance memo with the White House, The Daily Beast has learned.

During Monday’s contentious closed-door committee meeting, Rep. Mike Quigley, a Democrat, asked Nunes point-blank if his staffers had been talking with the White House as they compiled a four-page memo alleging FBI and Justice Department abuses over surveillance of President Trump’s allies in the Russia probe. Continue reading “Devin Nunes Won’t Say If He Worked With White House on Anti-FBI Memo”

Ryan defends release of memo on alleged surveillance abuses but warns against tying it to Mueller probe

The following article by Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website January 30, 2018:

After the House Intelligence Committee voted to release a classified memo, Republicans lauded the step while Democrats criticized it as a political deception.(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday defended the way that Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes handled a politically divisive vote to publicize a classified memo detailing alleged surveillance abuses by federal law enforcement agencies, but he warned against using it to discredit the special counsel’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Ryan (R-Wis.) said Nunes (R-Calif.) was following a well-established process when the committee voted Monday to release a GOP-drafted memo to the public, provided President Trump does not block its efforts within five days. The panel also voted to make a memo drafted by Democrats rebutting the GOP’s document available to House members to read in a secure facility, as the panel had done with the GOP memo 11 days earlier along party lines. Continue reading “Ryan defends release of memo on alleged surveillance abuses but warns against tying it to Mueller probe”

Lewandowski says he will testify this week in House Russia probe

The following article by Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website January 14, 2018:

Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, accompanied by Sebastian Gorka, Omarosa Manigault and Anthony Scaramucci, in July 2017. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that he will give testimony this week to a House committee probing Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Lewandowski said on WABC-AM radio in New York that he expects to appear before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday or Thursday to discuss the campaign. He told host Rita Cosby that he has not been contacted by Justice Department investigators — led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III — who are conducting a parallel investigation. Continue reading “Lewandowski says he will testify this week in House Russia probe”

Nunes announces deal for FBI files, interviews

The following article by John Bowden was posted on the Hill website January 4, 2018:

© Greg Nash

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he has reached a deal with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for documents and interviews relating to FBI agents who were removed from special counsel Robert Mueller‘s team over anti-Trump text messages.

In a letter detailing an earlier conversation between the two men released by Nunes on Thursday night, the California Republican announced that the House Intelligence Committee will gain access to documents and text messages relating to agent Peter Strzok and his FBI colleague Lisa Page, as well as access to a number of FBI witnesses themselves, later in January. Continue reading “Nunes announces deal for FBI files, interviews”

Top FBI, DOJ officials huddle with Ryan to talk dossier

The following article by Karoun Demirjian and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website January 4, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, left, leaves the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday after a meeting with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Top federal law enforcement officials huddled with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Wednesday afternoon to discuss a request from congressional investigators for documents related to a dossier alleging connections between President Trump and Russia, according to people familiar with the meeting, and hours later, a deal was apparently reached.

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray requested the meeting, according to Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment. Continue reading “Top FBI, DOJ officials huddle with Ryan to talk dossier”

Trump Jr. Rebuffs Questions At House Hearing

The following article from the Voice of America was posted on the National Memo website December 7, 2017:

Donald Trump Jr. refused to answer questions from lawmakers Wednesday about conversations he had with his father, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, about his controversial Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives in June 2016.

Trump Jr. avoided reporters and entered the Capitol through a back door before facing more than eight hours of questions from the House Intelligence Committee.

The committee is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Attorney-client privilege cited

The committee’s top Democrat, California’s Adam Schiff, said the younger Trump answered most of their questions, but claimed attorney-client privilege when declining to comment about the meeting he had with the Russians. Continue reading “Trump Jr. Rebuffs Questions At House Hearing”

Donald Trump Jr. faces a grilling today. Here are some big questions.

The following article by Greg Sargent was posted on the Washington Post website December 6, 2017:

Here’s what we know so far about Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during his father’s presidential campaign in June 2016. (Video: Elyse Samuels, Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

THE MORNING PLUM:

“Keep coming at me guys!!!” taunted Donald Trump Jr. last month, in response to those who preposterously continue trying to determine the truth about Russian sabotage of our election and Trump campaign collusion with it. Today, Trump Jr. faces closed-door questioning from the House Intelligence Committee, and hopefully, that will make some headway toward getting more answers. Some key areas of inquiry:

The Trump Tower meeting. Trump Jr. is expected to face questioning about his June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer, NBC News reports. We have now learned from NBC’s reporting that the lawyer has claimed that at the meeting, which was also attended by son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign chair Paul Manafort, Trump Jr. asked the lawyer for information about illegal donations to the Clinton Foundation. It wasn’t forthcoming. Continue reading “Donald Trump Jr. faces a grilling today. Here are some big questions.”

House panel’s Russia probe effectively put on hold

The following article by Karoun Bemirjian was posted on the Washington Post website March 28, 2017:

The House Intelligence Committee’s probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, including potential ties between the Trump team and the Kremlin, is effectively on hold, after its chairman said the panel would not interview more witnesses until two intelligence chiefs return to Capitol Hill for a still-unscheduled private briefing.

Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’s declaration Tuesday that “until [FBI Director James B.] Comey comes forward, it’s hard for us to move forward with interviews and depositions” comes as an indefinite stop order on a roster of expected interviews and testimony, from top Trump campaign surrogates to top intelligence and law enforcement officials serving during the election and transition period. Continue reading “House panel’s Russia probe effectively put on hold”