Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) wrote a scathing letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley calling for an investigation into the predicted obstruction of justice of the Russian probe. The Democratic Senator also wrote that she felt “concerned” about the fact that both National Security Agency Director Admiral Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats refused to answer many answerable questions during their hearings Wednesday night on Capitol Hill. Furthermore, Feinstein stated that she is “supportive of issuing subpoenas in those cases where we do not receive cooperation” which would be a crushing blow for Trump, a man who has not even released the tapes he threatened to.
Quoting Trump’s “loyalty” line and referencing the conversation between former NSA director Michael Flynn and Comey, Feinstein sets up a fantastic argument for a large-scale look at the obstruction of justice that Trump has committed and continues to commit on a daily basis. Trump is not under oath but continues to disagree with what trustworthy private citizen James Comey said under oath in his hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday.
Feinstein laid out an order of operations to aid in the investigation. She requested that each issue being investigated must be “developed by our legal staff, presented to us, and be subject to full committee hearings.” Feinstein then silenced anyone who opposed her by describing why it is the Judiciary Committee’s issue. She writes in her letter that the “termination of the FBI Director and any efforts to interfere with the independence of ongoing investigations — fall squarely in the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee” and therefore deserve an investigation by the Committee.
This letter is receiving praise from other Democratic politicians. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) tweeted:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
I couldn't agree more with @SenFeinstein. The American people deserve answers. https://t.co/eHObVw0jcs
— Sen. Patrick Leahy (@SenatorLeahy) June 9, 2017
Feinstein added that she believes it is necessary to hear from “officials Comey said he spoke with about his interactions with Trump” including Attorney General Jefferson Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
This call for action by Feinstein shows that a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee feels like there is a large issue in this investigation. Trump and his administration are trying to their best take advantage of our justice system, but resisting politicians like Feinstein and others will not let him get away with it. Click here to read Feinstein’s letter in full.
