The ranking member of the House Intel Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) exposed the new Republican investigations of Clinton and Obama for being the Trump led Russia distractions that they are.
In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Rep. Schiff said:
Today, the House Majority announced two new investigations of Secretary Clinton and the Obama Administration. These investigations were initiated on a partisan basis, and will shed no light on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, but then again they are not intended to do so. Acting on the urging of the President who has repeatedly denied the intelligence agencies’ conclusions regarding Russian involvement in our election, they are designed to distract attention and pursue the President’s preferred goal – attacking Clinton and Obama.
As with the President’s other Twitter-directed Congressional investigation – that into unmasking – the House Majority demonstrates its fundamental lack of seriousness about Russia’s role in the hacking of democratic institutions, its social media campaign and other active measures designed to influence the outcome of the last election. This may be good politics, but it is a disservice to the far more important cause of investigating Russian interference in our democracy and protecting our elections in 2018 and beyond from outside influence.
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Rep. Schiff was spot on. Republicans are trying to distract from the legitimate investigations into Trump and his presidential campaign by launching bogus investigations into Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The GOP investigations also serve a secondary purpose. Republicans are going back to the old attack Clinton and Obama well as a way of mobilizing their base ahead of the midterm election. With no record of accomplishments to run on, Republicans are going to use investigating Clinton and Obama as a selling point to justify keeping control of the House.
The Republican-led investigations are partisan nonsense, but when a party has accomplished nothing with total control of the federal government some accomplishment inflating becomes a necessary tool of GOP incumbency survival.
If you want the House to perform real investigations into Trump and issues that matter, voting for Democrats in 2018 will put an end to the Republican waste of taxpayer funds on bogus investigations.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
