Action 153: The Ties That Bind - Russia, Trump, and the Comey Testimony
Today, former FBI director James Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, rounding out a second day of testimony.
But just what are these hearings all about? What can we expect from Comey?
When Comey was fired there was broad speculation that Trump did so to stop the progress of an FBI led investigation into his ties to Russia (and for good reason). To date, the Senate Intelligence Committee is one of four congressional bodies investigating Trump, his cronies, and their ties to Russia. This is in addition to the FBI investigation and the Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.
There are two big questions that the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings seek to answer:
Did Trump instruct or ask Comey (or anyone else for that matter) to stop investigating his and his teams ties to Russia?
If Trump did ask or instruct Comey or others to stop investigating him and his team, what was his intent in doing so?
The answers to those questions are important because they could have criminal implications if they indicate that Trump obstructed justice and tried to stop an active criminal investigation.
Two of the officials that testified yesterday refused to answer. Their behavior was so outrageous that a regular right-wing contributor believes the committee should subpoena them to compel them to speak and hold them in contempt if they do not. However, Comey's prepared statements seem indicate that Trump demanded "loyalty" to him and did in fact ask him to stop investigating Michael Flynn, the former national security advisor that lied about communications with a Russian ambassador.
While there is certainly reason to believe that there may be criminal implications, we shouldn't rest on our laurels just because we got an independent counsel in Mueller. The important thing is that we push our elected officials to keep digging. So what else can we do? Keep the pressure on.
What you can do-
CALL your elected officials at
1-844-6-RESIST
1-844-673-7478
Ask them to demand the creation of a bipartisan independent commission similar those formed in the wake of 9/11 and the recent recession caused by a US financial market meltdown. - WATCH this short video to better understand why we need an independent commission.