[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 53 (Monday, March 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                Russia and Trump Campaign Investigation

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise this afternoon on a few topics. 
First, on the investigation into the Trump campaign's potential ties to 
Russia, this is a matter of such gravity, we need to get it right. 
There should be no doubt about the integrity and impartiality of the 
investigation, either in the executive branch, where the FBI and 
Department of Justice are looking into it, or in Congress, where the 
Intelligence Committees of both Chambers are conducting an 
investigation.
  Unfortunately, the House Intelligence Committee has come under a 
cloud of suspicion and partisanship. A few months ago, Chairman Nunes 
spoke to reporters at the request of the White House to tamp down 
stories on the links between the Trump campaign and Russia, which is 
exactly what his committee now must investigate. This past week, 
Chairman Nunes broke with the committee process and tradition to brief 
the President on information he had learned but hadn't yet shared with 
the committee. We have learned this morning that Chairman Nunes was at 
the White House the day before that event--doing what? We don't know. 
It could very well be the case that Chairman Nunes was briefing members 
of the administration about an investigation of which they are the 
subject.
  Chairman Nunes is falling down on the job and seems to be more 
interested in protecting the President than in seeking the truth. You 
cannot have the person in charge of an impartial investigation be 
partial to one side. It is an inherent contradiction, and it undermines 
decades of bipartisan cooperation on the Intelligence Committee, which 
handles such sensitive information paramount to national security. It 
undermines Congress as a coequal branch of government meant to hold the 
executive branch accountable for its actions, and it corrodes the 
American people's confidence in our government.
  If Speaker Ryan wants the House to have a credible investigation, he 
needs to replace Chairman Nunes. Congress was meant by the Framers to 
be separate and equal, and I sincerely worry that under his direction, 
Mr. Nunes is pushing the committee into a direction of obsequiousness 
and not one that is asking the hard questions and getting the important 
answers.
  There has always been a grand tradition of bipartisanship on the 
Intelligence Committee. When Members go into the SCIF, the room where 
they get secure briefings, they check their partisanship at the door. 
Chairman Nunes is right on the edge of doing permanent damage to that 
grand tradition of bipartisanship. Chairman Nunes seems to be more of a 
partisan for the President than an impartial actor. He has not been 
cooperating like someone who is interested in getting to the 
unvarnished truth. His actions look like those of someone who is 
interested in protecting the President and his party, and that doesn't 
work when the goal of the committee is to investigate Russia and its 
connection to the President and his campaign.
  Without further ado, Speaker Ryan should replace Chairman Nunes.