Hopes Dim for Congressional Russia Inquiries as Parties Clash

The following article by Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website October 22, 2017:

Representative Adam B. Schiff, left, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, and Representative K. Michael Conaway, Republican of Texas, have maintained a productive relationship in helping lead the panel, but the committee has been on rocky ground for months. Credit J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — In a secured room in the basement of the Capitol in July, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, fielded question after question from members of the House Intelligence Committee. Though the allotted time for the grilling had expired, he offered to stick around as long as they wanted.

But Representative Trey Gowdy, who spent nearly three years investigating Hillary Clinton’s culpability in the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, was growing frustrated after two hours. You are in an unwinnable situation, Mr. Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, counseled Mr. Kushner. If you leave now, Democrats will say you did not answer all the questions. If you stay, they will keep you here all week.

The exchange, described by three people with knowledge of it, typified the political morass that is crippling the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election — and whether the Trump campaign colluded in any way. Continue reading “Hopes Dim for Congressional Russia Inquiries as Parties Clash”