As the scandal surrounding Donald Trump and his presidential campaign’s ties to Russia continues to plague the White House, the House Intelligence Committee will interview its first major witness next week.
According to CNN, who first broke the story, the committee will interview Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman, John Podesta, who had thousands of his emails hacked and released during the campaign last year – which was an embarrassment for the Democratic nominee’s campaign that helped Trump beat her last fall.
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Podesta will be one of the committee’s first major witnesses to meet with the panel behind closed doors as it tries to determine the extent of the Russian involvement in last year’s campaign and whether any of President Donald Trump’s associates coordinated with the Russians.
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The committee sent out requests to interview six witnesses this week, sources said, with Podesta expected to be interviewed next week in a classified session. The committee is expected to question Podesta about the leak of thousands of his emails, which became a political headache and embarrassment for Clinton in the heat of the campaign season.
Podesta’s appearance comes days after the panel’s leaders met behind closed doors this week with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is trying to ensure that the multiple investigations on Capitol Hill do not conflict with his ongoing probe into Russia meddling and whether there was any criminal activity by Trump associates.
The news that the House Intel Committee will interview Podesta comes on the same day that Trump himself went on yet another tweetstorm about the ongoing Russia scandal. In his Twitter posts, the president attacked the Obama administration for not stopping the Russians and then called the scandal a “hoax” and a “scam.”
But despite the insecure president’s social media tantrums, the investigation into his presidential campaign’s ties to Russia – and his efforts to thwart that investigation – is a serious matter that isn’t likely to end anytime soon, regardless of how often Trump whines about it.
Health care has seized the attention of the nation over the past several days, and rightly so, but behind the scenes, the explosive Russia scandal continues to hang over this White House like a storm cloud.
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.
