[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 15, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H1188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A GLACIER OF RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, we are in a constitutional crisis. Make no 
mistake about it. Yes, the National Security Adviser Michael Flynn 
resigned. Yes, he should have resigned, but he is just the tip of the 
iceberg. A glacier of Russian interference is plaguing our country 
right now.
  In his resignation letter, General Flynn wrote: ``I have always 
performed my duties with the utmost of integrity and honesty to those I 
have served, to include the President of the United States.''
  I believe General Flynn. I believe he did precisely what the 
President of the United States asked him to do. General Flynn is a 
military man. He is accustomed to the chain of command. He did not do 
anything that he was not asked to do. He was not a rogue agent, but had 
the complete knowledge and cooperation of his Commander in Chief.
  We have all heard Donald Trump boast of how smart he is and how he 
calls his own shots. Why then should we believe that, when it comes to 
national security, he prefers to be kept in the dark? A President can't 
be both in charge and out of the loop.
  The only way we can ever hope to know what happened is if there is a 
thorough investigation. I believe it should be an independent 
investigation, an independent commission. But if we are going to go 
down the route of having it be a congressional investigation, then it 
needs to be a comprehensive investigation and one that has the 
resources to do the job.
  I am calling on Chairman Nunes of the House Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence to schedule hearings immediately.
  We heard 14 hours of testimony from Secretary Clinton about her 
emails. I think we can agree that foreign infiltration of our 
government at the highest level is at least as important as using a 
private email server, especially, I might add, when President Trump and 
his team used unencrypted cell phones during their North Korea strategy 
session at Mar-a-Lago in a dining room with many other guests.
  Today, an Active Duty, four-star general said publicly that ``our 
government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil'' and that he hopes 
``they sort it out soon, because we're a nation at war.''
  He continues: ``As a commander, I'm concerned our government be as 
stable as possible.''
  It is critical that Congress takes heed of this unprecedented public 
warning and act.
  I am well aware this is a partisan institution. I also know that 
there have been times in our proud history in the United States 
Congress when Members have pushed partisanship aside in search of the 
truth. The Warren Commission, following the assassination of President 
Kennedy, is one example. The 9/11 Commission after the terrorist 
attacks in 2001 is another.
  In the Senate, at least three Republicans have directly called for 
investigations into this matter and several more have acknowledged that 
these questions must be answered. I wonder, will one House Republican 
Member come forward and say we must investigate?
  Colleagues, I urge you to think this through. Vladimir Putin ordered 
agents to meddle in our election. Did he do it out of love for Mr. 
Trump? I doubt it. More likely, he did it so he could do to a democracy 
what we and our allies did to communism, send it to the ash heap of 
history. If America's elections can be hacked, what chance is there for 
budding democracies to make it?
  Don't believe me? Look at what Putin has done in just 3 weeks of this 
new administration. He had government agents poisoned. He sent a 
political rival to prison. He sent $12 million to Jean-Marie Le Pen, 
the far-right candidate for the President of France. His latest move 
was to launch a cruise missile that is in direct defiance of treaties.
  Putin's Russia is playing chicken with President Trump, and what is 
our President's response? A tweet complaining about leaks within his 
administration and, according to the latest reports, pressuring the 
Prime Minister of Japan to forge closer relations with Russia.

                              {time}  1015

  President Trump's ``bromance'' is dangerous. It undermines our 
democracy, and it is destabilizing the globe.
  What does Putin have on President Trump? What does President Trump 
owe Putin?
  We will not know until we exercise U.S. Code section 6103. A vote 
yesterday in Ways and Means was a totally partisan vote. We deserve to 
know what his tax return shows us. We deserve the truth.

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