House Intel Turns Up Heat On Trump’s Finances, Corruption, And Russia Ties
Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., joined at the right by the ranking member Devin Nunes, R-Calif., talk to reporters about their investigation Russian influence on the American presidential election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 15, 2017 – Nunes was chairman at the time this photo was taken, so the caption reflects their post-midterm titles. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rantt Rundown, Day 748 of Trump’s presidency – Today’s top stories:
1. Finally, the House investigation we deserve: From his false FISA surveillance scandal to his effort to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Devin Nunes and House Republicans helped President Trump undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. As chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, Nunes prematurely shut down the House’s Russia investigation, refused to release testimony, and ultimately aided President Trump’s coverup. Those days are over. The midterms delivered Democrats the majority in the House, and with that win came vast power. House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff is not wasting any time.
Schiff is reopening the House’s Russia investigation with a scope that covers every facet of Trump’s corrupt behavior, which will likely include a look at the evidence of Trump’s potential money laundering for Russian oligarchs. Schiff is also probing Trump’s finances for ties to foreign entities that may be influencing his policy. This goes beyond Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and into the scope of a global corruption investigation that seeks to determine whether nations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others have successfully influenced President Trump. The House Intelligence Committee has also handed Mueller over 50 transcripts of interviews from the last two years of their Russia investigation, which puts anyone who lied to Congress under immense scrutiny. This development, on top of the recent New York subpoenas seeking whether foreign entities illegally funneled money into Trump’s inaugural committee, should strike fear into Donald Trump.
2. The State of the Union: On Tuesday night, President Trump delivered a State of the Union address calling for unity, and then immediately undercut that message by fear-mongering about immigrants. One of the most notable moments was when President Trump addressed the historic wave of newly elected female candidates, which led to the freshmen Democratic Representatives, all dressed in white, to celebrate. But surely, the moment that won the night, was Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s clapback of the century.
3. Virginia gubernatorial mess update: After admitting to wearing blackface, Governor Ralph Northam continued to refuse to resign even after losing support from the entire Democratic Party. By Saturday morning, several prominent Democrats also called for his resignation, including presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Julian Castro, and Kirsten Gillibrand. Other big names like Joe Biden had chimed in as well. By the end of the day Saturday, Northam’s own Attorney General called for his resignation as well as his key allies Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, and Terry McAuliffe. On Monday, there was an entirely new scandal arising as a woman came forward with a sexual assault allegation against Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax. And on Tuesday, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring admitted to wearing blackface in his youth as well. None have resigned so far, but all eyes are still on Virginia.
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