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Amaryllis

(9,523 posts)
Thu Feb 9, 2017, 05:19 PM Feb 2017

Senator Wyden is Hell-bent on Getting Out the Truth About Trump and Russia (Mother Jones)

Re-posting even though this is from Feb. 6 because I keep seeing threads asking what is happening with the Russia story, and very few other media outlets seem to have picked up on this. It got a lot of recs when I posted before, but things are happening so fast that it didn't stay up long.

It is really important info, and appears to be the most definitive info we have at this point.

"Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden says the Obama administration should have released more information before the election.

One of the most important men in Washington, DC, these days is Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon. Sure, all senators are big shots. Even Democrats in the minority. But Wyden is in a special position: He can guarantee for the public whether or not an ongoing and (for now) behind-closed-doors investigation examining Vladimir Putin's operation to subvert the 2016 elections—and any possible ties between Donald Trump's circle and Russia—is conducted thoroughly and legitimately.

(snip)

One cause of this seeming quietude is that after several weeks of political controversy regarding how best to investigate the matter—with Democrats joined by a small number of Republicans (that is, Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio) calling for a robust inquiry—the Senate intelligence committee agreed to initiate its own probe. (The House intelligence community shortly followed suit.) After first being reluctant to include possible Trump-Russia ties in the investigation, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the Senate intelligence committee chair, relented. (Burr, no coincidence, was a member of the Trump campaign's national security advisory council.) But now that the intelligence committees are supposedly on the case—and with the FBI not discussing whatever inquiries it may be holding on this front—the controversy (or scandal!) has been nudged to the back burner. This often happens in Washington: a secret investigation is launched, the story goes dark. (When Trump had a call with Putin after his first week in office, there was no indication from the White House that the new president had said anything to Putin about the Russian covert interference in the election. A senior Trump administration official told the Washington Post the chat had been "pleasant.&quot

Enter Wyden. For the public, at this point, there is no way to tell if the intelligence committee is doing a good job investigating these dicey issues. Republicans on the committee certainly have an interest in not embarrassing, inconveniencing, or delegitimizing Trump. So it's up to Wyden and the other Democrats on the committee to monitor the probe and inform the citizenry if it ends up being a whitewash. And Wyden has already indicated that there is information on Trump-Russia ties within the US government that ought to be declassified, that he will push to keep the committee's inquiry on track, and that he will press to make as much of its findings as public as possible. In early January, during a rare public hearing of the Senate intelligence committee, which focused on the intelligence community's recently released report concluding Putin's regime had mounted the hacking to help Trump, Wyden pressed FBI Director James Comey on whether he would declassify information the bureau had obtained related to possible Trump-Russia connections and "release it to the American people" before Trump was inaugurated. No, Comey said, adding, "I can't talk about it." Wyden noted he was worried that if such information was not unveiled by then, it might never be—meaning, the incoming Trump administration would lock it up. And with this questioning, Wyden signaled that the FBI did indeed possess information on this subject.

Wyden failed to squeeze this material out of the FBI before Trump became president. But now he is in a position to tell the public if the Republican-led intelligence committee is doing an honest job with its all-important inquiry. A few days ago, I interviewed Wyden in his office and asked him about his role in this all-important project:

More:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/ron-wyden-intelligence-committee-russia-trump-investigation

This statement is very important: "People normally think things are classified and buttoned up for national reasons. I find it's far more likely to be political security than national security."

So glad to know what's going on with this and that Wyden is on it. Lots of us have been afraid it would get swept under the rug. Wyden is fighting for us. He's my senator and is definitely one of the good guys.

13 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Senator Wyden is Hell-bent on Getting Out the Truth About Trump and Russia (Mother Jones) (Original Post) Amaryllis Feb 2017 OP
KICK! elleng Feb 2017 #1
Thank you! Amaryllis Feb 2017 #2
Grateful for him and you and this, but Chaffetz is OUR representative when it comes to this Eliot Rosewater Feb 2017 #3
Chaffetz Scarsdale Feb 2017 #12
This February 3 article is by David Corn, the same reporter who wrote the article asking enough Feb 2017 #4
He is one of the few (only?) ones who are keeping it alive. Apparently no one else thought Amaryllis Feb 2017 #7
Kicked and recommended. WheelWalker Feb 2017 #5
Kick! Squinch Feb 2017 #6
I'd like to think tparrett62 Feb 2017 #8
Maxine Waters says a lot of them are getting really nervous about Trump. Amaryllis Feb 2017 #9
We need to call him and encourage him. https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/? TrekLuver Feb 2017 #10
We the people, demand the truth. sarcasmo Feb 2017 #11
I hope Wyden stays off of small planes! Plucketeer Feb 2017 #13

Eliot Rosewater

(31,097 posts)
3. Grateful for him and you and this, but Chaffetz is OUR representative when it comes to this
Thu Feb 9, 2017, 05:28 PM
Feb 2017

and he has said flat out he will not investigate anything to do with Fuckface Von Pussygrabber.

Fascists are running things.

Scarsdale

(9,426 posts)
12. Chaffetz
Sun Feb 19, 2017, 08:29 AM
Feb 2017

When is HE up for re-election? He needs to go the same way Eric Cantor did. Cantor thought he was bullet proof, too. Arrogant little wart got his arse handed to him.

enough

(13,237 posts)
4. This February 3 article is by David Corn, the same reporter who wrote the article asking
Thu Feb 9, 2017, 05:33 PM
Feb 2017

what happened to the Russia story on Feb 9. No doubt Corn is trying to keep our eyes on this ball.

Amaryllis

(9,523 posts)
7. He is one of the few (only?) ones who are keeping it alive. Apparently no one else thought
Thu Feb 9, 2017, 05:57 PM
Feb 2017

to interview Wyden, and it seems like a no-brainer to interview members of the Intelligence Committee. Although Wyden is progressive and I dont know about the others. As he said, there is a difference between national and political security, and the others may be more interested in political security. .

tparrett62

(268 posts)
8. I'd like to think
Thu Feb 9, 2017, 06:56 PM
Feb 2017

That McCain, Rubio, and Graham have the long knives out for Trump as well. He played pretty rough with each of them during the campaign, and I'm sure they all have their own agendas. Obviously no one wants to be the first to stick his neck out, but once the trickle starts, I imagine each of them will happily join in.

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