The truth about Russia

Forget the politics. Now that both congressional Democrats and President Trump are calling for an independent investigation, it’s time for Republicans in Congress to put country ahead of politics and name a special committee to investigate the growing evidence of ties between the world of Trump and Russia — and zero evidence of President Obama bugging Trump’s phones. Examine them both.

It’s also time to ignore Trump’s risible efforts to change the subject. He accuses our intelligence agencies of playing politics. He blames leftover Obama aides for leaks. Now, without a shred of evidence, he charges Obama with tapping Trump Tower phones.

{mosads}None of which is true. But all of which is clearly intended to divert our attention from a cascade of contacts between those close to Trump and Russian officials. And remember this: These talks were taking place at a time when, according to January’s unanimous conclusion of all 17 intelligence agencies, the Russian government was actively interfering in the 2016 election for the express purpose of helping Trump defeat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

That assault on democracy alone should trigger a special committee, not to mention the flood of evidence we’ve seen since.

“I have nothing to do with Russia,” Trump told reporters on Feb. 16. “To the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.” We know for sure that that’s simply false. Indeed, it looks like anyone around Trump who does not have ties with Russia is the rare exception.

Fact: Former National Security Agency chief Michael Flynn talked sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and lied about it. Fact: Flynn and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, met with Kislyak at Trump Tower. Fact: When he was a leading Trump surrogate, then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) met twice with Kislyak. Fact: Campaign adviser Carter Page and national security adviser J.D. Gordon also met with Kislyak. Fact: Donald Trump Jr. likely received $50,000 for an October 2016 speech to a pro-Kremlin group in Paris. Fact: Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort maintained close ties with his longtime business associate, a former Russian officer investigated in Ukraine of being a Russian intelligence agent.

How much more evidence do you need to trigger a special investigation? And again, all those contacts took place while Putin was trying to throw the election to Trump and Trump was praising Putin as “very smart” and as a better leader than Obama. What were they talking about? Were Trump staffers colluding with Russian efforts to tilt the election to Trump? Or were they just talking about the weather in Moscow?

The truth is, we don’t know. But a bipartisan, bicameral special committee is the only way to find out. We certainly can’t depend on the House or Senate Intelligence committees when both chairmen, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), have been enlisted by the White House to help shoot down the Russian allegations.

There may be nothing there. But it sure smells bad. The true nature of the Trump-Russia connection merits the laser-like focus of a special committee. The American people have a right to know. And Congress has a duty to find out. 

Press is host of “The Bill Press Show” on Free Speech TV and author of “Buyer’s Remorse: How Obama Let Progressives Down.”