“If it’s not a legitimate and comprehensive and in-depth investigation, why would we be party to it?”
Ms. Speier said the committee’s Democrats — all nine of whom were interviewed by
— would not hesitate, “under certain circumstances,” to pull their support.
Mr. Nunes has belittled news stories about the Russian links of Mr. Trump’s associates and has pledged — along with Senator Richard M. Burr, the North Carolina Republican who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee — to examine Mr. Trump’s accusations, made without evidence,
that President Barack Obama ordered surveillance of Trump Tower.
If Russia Inquiry Is Not ‘Legitimate,’ Democrats May Abandon It -
By EMMARIE HUETTEMANMARCH 11, 2017
WASHINGTON — They agreed just a week ago to the terms of a House Intelligence Committee
investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Still, Democrats are bracing for fights over subpoenaing witnesses
and documents — including, possibly, Mr. Trump’s tax returns — since Republicans have balked at an outside, independent inquiry into what intelligence officials say was an unprecedented intrusion into an American election by a foreign power.
Democrats expect the first major test of the investigation —
and Mr. Nunes’s stewardship — to come on March 20, when the committee holds its first public hearing.
Should the issue not be put to rest quickly, Ms. Speier said, “it would call into question the entire investigation.”
Several Democrats said they expected their desire to compel certain witnesses to testify to stoke friction among Republicans.
