The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday blasted two newly announced House GOP probes on issues that date back to the Obama era as “partisan” distractions aimed at drawing attention away from ongoing investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 race.
“Acting on the urging of the President who has repeatedly denied the intelligence agencies’ conclusions regarding Russian involvement in our election, they are designed to distract attention and pursue the President’s preferred goal – attacking Clinton and Obama,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said in a statement.
House Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary committees announced they would be looking into the Justice Department’s handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, while Schiff’s colleague on the Intelligence Committee, chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA), said his panel would investigate the Obama administration’s approval of a Russian uranium deal alongside the Oversight committee.
The Clinton email scandal was a favorite bogeyman of President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans during the 2016 election. Conservative commentators on Fox News and fresh reports at The Hill have cast renewed scrutiny on the uranium deal, which Trump also brought up on the campaign trail, in recent days.
Schiff noted both of the new House investigations into these issues were launched without Democratic support.
The California lawmaker said the probes offer proof of the GOP House Majority’s “fundamental lack of seriousness” about Russia’s election interference and are a “disservice” to the multiple investigations into that interference.
