Senate Democrats press GOP chairmen over Ukraine allegations

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senate Homeland Security Committee ranking member Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in a letter Tuesday asking top Republicans on the committees about the basis for their intent to pursue investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and conspiracy theories about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.

“Allegations of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election are part of a Russian disinformation campaign,” the letter states, citing testimony by former National Security Council official Fiona Hill and Assistant Secretary of State George Kent.

{mosads}“Consequently, we do not see a basis for an investigation by three major Senate Committees into these discredited allegations and believe that doing so could advance the Russian disinformation and election interference efforts,” Feinstein, Peters and Wyden wrote. “We should not facilitate foreign interference in our 2020 election.”

Republican Sens. Ron Johnson (Wis.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), the chairmen of the Senate Homeland Security, Finance and Judiciary committees, respectively, earlier this month said they are seeking to interview former Democratic National Committee contractor Alexandra Chalupa regarding the 2016 election.

“Whether there’s a connection between Democratic operatives and Ukrainian officials during the 2016 election has yet to be determined. It will only be found by looking. We intend to look,” Graham said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) also blasted the request, saying the committee chairmen were promoting theories spread by Russia.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his intelligence services disinformation campaign team in Moscow couldn’t have cooked up a more useful tool for spreading conjured and baseless conspiracy theories than the one Chairmen Graham, Grassley and Johnson announced today,” Schumer said in a statement.