Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 10:52 pm
In a new letter released on Wednesday, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined together to demand answers from the Justice Department and the FBI surrounding Michael Flynn’s – and the Trump administration’s – connections to Russia.
In the letter, the bipartisan pair of senators requested a briefing on the “circumstances that led to” Flynn’s departure from the Trump White House.
Letter:
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LETTER: Grassley & Feinstein jointly request DOJ/FBI briefing during the week of Feb. 27 on “circumstances that led to” Flynn’s resignation. pic.twitter.com/v5avYAnXVS
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) February 15, 2017
An excerpt:
We request that individuals with specific knowledge of these issues from both the FBI and Justice Department brief Committee Members and staff. We similarly request copies of the transcripts of Mr. Flynn’s intercepted calls and the FBI report summarizing the intercepted calls referenced in the media. We anticipate that some of these documents may be classified, some may not, and others may contain both classified and unclassified information.
The most important takeaway from the letter isn’t so much that members of both parties are not taking this matter seriously; it’s that Sens. Grassley and Feinstein are both demanding to see actual transcripts of the phone communications between Flynn and the Russians.
Even Republicans have realized that taking the administration’s word is no longer an option, particularly when the White House has spent months lying about it’s relationship to Russia. Seeing the transcripts of Flynn’s conversations with Russian officials will not be the end of the investigation, but it will provide a useful glimpse into whether any other administration officials, including the president, were involved.
The bipartisan letter comes on the heels of an admission by GOP Intel Chairman Devin Nunes who, according to Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, said he “would investigate everything that the Senate is looking at, including the Flynn allegations.”
Donald Trump can continue to blame the media and dodge questions surrounding his president campaign’s relationship to Russia, but his administration soon may have no choice but to come clean as leaders in both parties demand a thorough investigation.
Flynn’s resignation was not the end of this massive scandal; it’s just getting started.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
