Mr. Speaker, tonight, as we have every other week for the last few months, I want to talk about the Mueller investigation and the kinds of results that are being developed by the FBI, by the Department of Justice, on a lot of very serious…
Mr. Speaker, tonight, as we have every other week for the last few months, I want to talk about the Mueller investigation and the kinds of results that are being developed by the FBI, by the Department of Justice, on a lot of very serious topics. The main topic is the Russians interfering with our elections, particularly the 2016 election.
That kind of interference goes to the heart of our Nation. It goes to the heart of our freedom. It goes to the heart of our independence. It goes to the heart of this country's sovereignty and to be able to make decisions without interference by nations other than the United States of America, other than us as citizens of the United States of America. I think we need to step back and think about this a little bit, because it is clear now.
Just today, the Senate Republican chair of the Intelligence Committee said there is no doubt that Russia undertook an unprecedented effort to interfere with our 2016 elections. He says he looks forward to completing the committee's inquiry and issuing findings and recommendations to Americans.
The vice chairman, Senator Warner from Virginia, says:
After a thorough review, our staff concluded that the
intelligence community's conclusions were accurate and on
point. The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and
ordered by President Putin himself for the purpose of helping
Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton.
In order to protect our democracy from future threats, we must understand what happened in 2016.
So, a year ago, Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to look into this affair and what exactly happened and to bring those to justice who broke our laws, who interfered with our sovereignty and our freedoms.
But all along the way, the White House has objected, has tried to describe it as a witch hunt, as a hoax, as nothing but a charade, when, in fact, in this 1-year period there have been five guilty pleas and 22 indictments.
We kind have got to go back to the beginning, Mr. Speaker.
A year ago, Democrats were asking the President to turn over his tax returns, which all Presidents have done and which candidates do. The President refused and continues to refuse to this day to turn over his tax returns.
So the question is: What is in there to hide? What is the big deal? What is he afraid of us seeing in those tax returns?
Today, it came out in the news that the financial disclosure statement shows a payment to Michael Cohen, his attorney, that he said he never made.
We have got to get to the bottom of these numbers, to the bottom of this Russian interference. Mr. Mueller and the FBI need to conclude their investigation without any interference, without any obstruction. For all of us as Americans, this applies to the very core of what a democracy is, and that is free, fair, and unimpeded elections.
So there are three key questions that we keep asking. We ask our friends on the Republican side, particularly Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell: Let's move forward with investigations here in this Congress. Why not?
Let's find out what is really going on. Let's protect this investigation so that threats by the White House to fire Mr. Mueller, to fire Rod Rosenstein from the Department of Justice--they did fire individuals out of the FBI--let's let these detectives and these law enforcement officials finish their job. But the questions are: What are they hiding? What are they afraid that people will see? And why not let the detectives and the law enforcement officers finish their job?
Let's play this out and see exactly what the facts are so we all know what happened and how we can stop it from happening again to make sure we have free and fair elections.
I have been able to ask these questions and participate in these Special Order hours with several of my friends. One of those who has taken a keen interest in protecting this investigation and making sure that the facts do come to light has been my friend, Jared Huffman from northern California.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), for some of his thoughts as to where we are, because we have had many, many changes in terms of the lawyers who were representing either the White House or the President personally. They are gone. We have got new lawyers. Former District Attorney and Mayor Giuliani is now involved. Other people. The President's personal lawyer, Mr. Cohen, is now out and under investigation himself. There seems to be something happening pretty much every day. I would like to get my friend's thoughts about it.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from northern California, and his points are really well taken. This investigation, rather than just sort of pushing some paper around, we have had other special counsel appointed from time to time and just in this--some of them take years. Whether it was the Contra affair, Watergate, or whatever, it takes years and years.
Here, really in 1 year, we have had 13 Russian either agencies or corporations and individuals indicted. We have had at least six or seven Americans indicted in this whole process.
Recently, I think within the last few days, or maybe it was even today, Paul Manafort, chairman of the Trump campaign, objected to the indictment that he found himself under. He went to court and said that Mueller had exceeded his authority by bringing the indictment. The judge said: No, that indictment stands.
There has been a lot of smoke. We know that there is some fire creating that smoke. We have got to find that. We have got to find precisely what happened.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney), who has joined us and has got some thoughts about this that he will share.
Mr. Speaker, my friend from Connecticut has reminded me of something. And I think something that has really infuriated me is the President's attacks on the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, our chief and top law enforcement agency in this country.
Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But are they doing their job to the best of their ability to protect Americans, to protect America? Absolutely. And for the President to sort of just continue to chip away and to excoriate the FBI because it is undertaking an investigation that may implicate him in breaking laws of the United States of America, I think, is something that we haven't seen. This investigation needs to continue to do its work, to talk to witnesses, to determine what has occurred here.
The Senate Judiciary today, or within the last day or two, released thousands of pages of testimony and information. One of the places that it talked about was what happened at a meeting--I think it was at the Trump Tower--in June of 2016, so 5 months, 6 months before the election, between a Russian attorney. I think another Russian was there; Paul Manafort, the chairman of the campaign; Jared Kushner, son- in-law of the President; and Donald Trump, Jr., his son.
There is a lot of concern about what actually occurred in that particular meeting. There is a lot of material here that is very, very troubling.
I know my friend from California has thought about this. He has thoughts about Mr. Giuliani saying that Donald Trump may take the Fifth Amendment, which I think came out of nowhere. But why would he want to take the Fifth Amendment?
Again, the question is: What is he hiding? What is he afraid of? Let's just let law enforcement complete its work.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back to the gentleman from California.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman talked about quid pro quo, and the thing that I am worried about, I serve on the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee of the Committee on Financial Services, where we deal a lot with sanctions: sanctions against North Korea, sanctions against Iran, sanctions against China, sanctions against Russia. With Russia having gone into Ukraine, Russia having gone into Crimea, and then Russia having interfered with our elections, a lot of sanctions are out there, but this administration seems to be using kid gloves in applying them.
Yes, I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. Speaker, I know my friend from Connecticut has some other thoughts, so I yield to him.
Mr. Speaker, we will wrap up this portion of our Special Orders because I know we have another subject that Ms. Pingree and Mr. Blumenauer and Mr. Tonko would like to address.
Mr. Speaker, the seriousness of this subject can't be overstated: the impact on elections; the trust in our system of elections; the trust in our law enforcement; the trust in our courts; the trust, which is attacked by this President and too many others, of our institutions of the press, whether it is The Washington Post or The New York Times or somebody investigating.
And it goes to trust of this Nation and what we have formed. And when you have got outside influences like Russia sticking their nose in our business and trying to put their thumb on the scale as to who should run this Nation, I can't think of a higher crime.
And we know the National Security Advisor for Donald Trump, Michael Flynn, indicted; Rick Gates, campaign advisor for the Trump campaign; George Papadopoulos, foreign affairs advisor for Trump campaign; Richard Pinedo; Alexander van der Zwaan--all indicted, sentenced, or at least pled guilty. Indicted still: the campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; 13 Russian nationals; and 3 Russian entities.
This investigation needs to get to the bottom of all of this. We have got to try to figure out: Is there anything being hidden? Is there anything that we, as Americans, should know about this interference that we don't know today? And our law enforcement officers, from Robert Mueller to the FBI to the cop on the beat, need to be allowed to finish this investigation.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend from California and my friend from Connecticut. I yield to my friend from Maine (Ms. Pingree) because she seems to be ready to go here. I don't know about her two colleagues, the one from New York and the one from Oregon, because they seem to be kind of getting ready but not nearly as ready as my friend, Congresswoman Pingree.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from Maine.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Maine. The farm bill--and agriculture and the environment--is always something she cares a lot about, whether it is conversations about milk or eggs or local control, which is really sort of at the heart of her concern about this bill, that, you know, Maine, and its local governments and the State as a whole, cares about its environment and it cares about its agriculture. And she, as a Representative, makes that clear to the rest of us how important it is to her State.
So I thank the gentlewoman from Maine, and I now yield to my friend from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oregon for those comments, who, as always, is very knowledgeable and passionate about the things that really matter to most Americans, and I thank him for being such an advocate for the environment, always, every day.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), my friend. I know Mr. Polis has some things he would like to add to this conversation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Colorado for bringing up these important points, and I wish him well as he goes on about a campaign for Governor in the State of Colorado.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko), my friend, again, a tireless advocate for the environment. Obviously, New York produces, especially in his part of the State, a lot of farms and a lot of agriculture. This is a subject that he knows well.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from New York for those comments. I can say, to those who are listening, that Mr. Tonko serves on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and speaks up about the environment and about concerns about chemicals, the effects on public health, the effects on the environment, and I thank him for his advocacy.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), my friend, for his thoughts on this particular subject, a gentleman who is an outdoorsman, and talks about the farms and the cheeses of Wisconsin. He is here as a real advocate for his State. I am sorry that he has had the Green Bay Packers and they have fallen on hard times.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Wisconsin for those comments. He makes so many good points, and he does it in a way that really is understandable by all of us.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), my friend, if he wishes, to close.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.