WASHINGTON — With questions still swirling about the sudden resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn this week, Democrats on Wednesday stepped up demands for an independent investigation into the relationship between the Trump administration and Moscow.
Republicans, meanwhile, sought to show both support for President Trump and independence from the burgeoning scandal. Senate Republican leaders say the Senate Intelligence Committee will probe Flynn's discussions with the Russian ambassador and that Flynn is expected to one day testify before Congress.
During a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, Trump ripped intelligence officials and the press over what he called "very, very unfair" treatment of Flynn and for "illegally leaked" information about reported contacts between his campaign advisers and Russian officials.
In his first public comments since asking for Flynn's resignation, Trump said it was "really a sad thing that he was treated so badly."
Trump asked for Flynn's resignation following revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about secret communications with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States. Reuters reports the pair exchanged several calls on one day in December, the same day the outgoing Obama administration announced new sanctions on Moscow over alleged Russian influence on the U.S. presidential election.
On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer added pressure on congressional Republicans to agree to an independent, bipartisan investigation and called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who campaigned with Trump, to recuse himself.
"It is now readily apparent that Gen. Flynn's resignation is not the end of the story, it is merely the beginning of a much longer story," said Schumer, D-N.Y.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the questions around Flynn's dismissal disturbing for the country, given the constant flow of reports connecting Trump aides to Russian officials.
"It all points to the need to have an independent, outside commission, non-partisan with subpoena power, to find the truth about what this means to our national security," she said.
"The president is flirting with danger. We know he is the deflector in chief. Any time there's a problem here, he changes the subject. It's the tactic of an authoritarian government to shut down openness and create secrecy."
Congressional Republicans have largely said no additional investigation is needed—among them House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who said his committee won't investigate the circumstances that led Flynn to resign.
But Senate Republicans have begun to acknowledge the issue is not going away.
"I think because of all that's happening right now, there's going to be more discussions," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters Wednesday.
Corker favors the Senate Intelligence Committee's probe over an independent commission like the one that probed the 9/11 attacks.
"The last independent probe was a two-and-half-year process, and I'm not sure that's what the American people would sign up for," he said.
Democrats won't be able to make an independent investigation happen without support from the Republican majority. If individual Republican lawmakers start to break away to call for a commission, there could be a sort of domino effect that forces the hands of Republican leaders, say Republican aides and analysts.
"It's not unthinkable in my view," Dalibor Rohac, of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said of an independent commission.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., have expressed support for some form of investigation.
Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told reporters Wednesday his panel was the appropriate venue for an investigation--and that Flynn should testify in public, "eventually, but I think first let's learn the facts."
On Wednesday, McCain expressed frustration over the disarray and contradictory statements from within Trump's national security apparatus.
"Right now, without a national security advisor, and everything else that's going on in the White House, it's dysfunctional on national security," McCain said.
McCain said his support for an independent inquiry hinges on Trump's answers to questions he and Graham plan to send. "We need to find out a lot of basic information, and this is just the beginning of this," he said.
"The reason why you might want to consider a select committee is because it does cross a lot of jurisdictions," McCain said.
Also on Wednesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation to require congressional approval of any sanctions relief provided to Russia. McCain, Graham and Rubio were among the Republicans on board.
"Each day, we learn more about secret dealings that President Trump's confidants have had with the Russian government," said House Armed Services Ranking Member Adam Smith, D-Wash. "We don't yet know the full extent of these interactions, but it would raise serious questions if the administration attempted to ease the sanctions on Russia right now."
Email: jgould@defensenews.com
Twitter: @reporterjoe
Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
