Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:59 pm
The wall of Congressional Republicans supporting Trump has begun to crack as calls are growing for an independent investigation into the President’s relationship with Russia.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) supported Mike Flynn testifying before Congress during an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe:
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Corker said, “That is the elephant in the room that has got to be dealt with in the most appropriate way. The American people need to understand, we need to understand. And it needs to be dealt with quickly, and we need to get it behind us.â€
The really bad news for Trump came from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who said that proof any contact between the Trump campaign and Russia would justify a full independent investigation into all matters related to Russia and Trump:
On the Democratic side of the Senate, eleven Democratic Senators wrote a letter that was provided to PoliticusUSA calling for a special prosecutor and for Attorney General Sessions to recuse himself from the investigation into the Russia/Trump relationship. The Senators wrote, “An independent investigation is now necessary to determine what General Flynn did, who knew about it, and when,†the Senators wrote. “To maintain the confidence, credibility and impartiality of the Department of Justice, we urge you to immediately appoint an independent Special Counsel to investigate collusion with the Russian government by General Flynn and other Trump campaign, transition, and Administrative officials.â€
As Matthew Dowd of ABC News put it, Republican support for Trump in the House and Senate is cracking:
.@matthewjdowd to @GMA: "Donald Trump had a very solid wall of Republicans…it's now starting to crack." https://t.co/1ogkbMjidV pic.twitter.com/AtzNnJepQ1
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 15, 2017
The Russian chickens are coming home to roost. Flynn’s resignation didn’t end the scandal. It ignited an inferno.
The wheels are being set into motion for a full-scale, independent investigation into Donald Trump. The keywords that Sen. Graham used were “all things related to Russia.” The investigation wouldn’t be centered on Flynn’s activities, but the activities and communications of the entire Trump campaign with Russia.
The Russia scandal has the potential to take out Trump, Pence, the upper White House staff, and Republican Congressional leader Speaker of the House Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell. It is a scandal that could be bigger than Watergate in size and scope because it involves a presidential campaign potentially colluding with a foreign power that is hostile to the United States to win an election.
If an independent investigation is launched, it will mean years of scandal, that will wreck the Trump presidency.
America is one more revelation away from a political scandal that could bring down not just a president, but an entire political party.
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
