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Republicans Focus on Protecting Trump at Russia Hearing
They kept pressing ex-CIA chief John Brennan to say no evidence of Moscow-campaign collusion exists.
DAVID CORN MAY 23, 2017 1:55 PM
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/republicans-protect-trump-at-house-intelligence-hearing-russia
Yet once again Republicans did not focus on the main elements of the story. When the Republicans on the committee had the chance to question Brennan, they did not press him for more details on Russia's information warfare against the United States. Instead, they fixated on protecting Trump.
The Republicans zeroed in on the issue of whether Trump and his associates colluded with any Russians involved in the attack on US democracyto push Brennan to say that he had not seen concrete evidence of such conspiring. Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fla) and Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) grilled Brennan repeatedly on this point. They posed the same basic query: did you see any evidence that Trump or his associates plotted with Russians? "I don't do evidence. I do intelligence," Brennan replied. Still, they kept pressing him. They were obviously hoping he would state that he had not come across any such evidence so Trump and his champions could cite Brennan as a witness for their claim no collusion occurred.
In the face of this questioning, Brennan repeatedly stated that the intelligence he saw regarding contacts between Trump associates and Russia was worrisome and deserved full FBI scrutiny. So the Republicans failed in their mission to provide cover for Trumpand they ended up highlighting the legitimacy of the FBI inquiry begun under Comey.
A similar effort fell flat. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) questioned Brennan about the intelligence community assessment released in early January that concluded the Russian clandestine operation was designed to assist Trump. He several times asked Brennan if there had been evidence contrary to this conclusion that was not included in the report. Brennan explained that the assessment was the result of a thorough interagency process that looked to develop a consensus position. Still, King seemed to suggest that the assessment might be open to question. And Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) asserted he had reviewed raw intelligence, and he insisted the information supporting the assessment that Moscow had preferred Trump was not as solid as the intelligence community maintained. Here were Republicans trying to find wiggle room for Trump.
Moostache
(9,895 posts)gibraltar72
(7,506 posts)be the dumbest man alive. He persisted in questioning Brennan until he got an answer he didn't want!
"He persisted in questioning Brennan until he got an answer he didn't want!"
That the repukes gerrymandered in, their dopes like Gowdys & Gohmerts, may be what saves this country in the end.
There is hope.
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)It's sickening to watch the Republicans try to cover up the horse shit that went down between Trump and Russia against the United States of America. Republican cover up equals Republican complicity.
gademocrat7
(10,660 posts)Eliot Rosewater
(31,112 posts)Maven
(10,533 posts)or someone like Mueller. The fact that he thought he could roll Brennan, and will undoubtedly try with Mueller, is just comically said.
Panich52
(5,829 posts)classified info/methods in open hearings. Tried f/ same in several bouts of questioning. Then stressed how disgusting leaders are.
sheshe2
(83,793 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Meanwhile, their Russian comment-bots are filling message boards with the notion that somewhere, somehow, some investigation has been concluded that totally exonerates the Trump administration, the Trump campaign, and everyone in the Trump circle from any contact or collusion with the Russians.
There hasn't been any investigation. Right now, a couple of committees are reluctantly conducting the most desultory interviews and de minimis fact-gathering they can get away with to forestall the public's righteous wrath for selling out the country.
furtheradu
(1,865 posts)brer cat
(24,578 posts)possibly the week!
Brennan must have been laughing up his sleeve at the absolute stupidity of the republicans trying to outwit him. Just ain't gonna happen.