[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2754]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WHAT IS THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION

  (Mr. WELCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, after only 24 days in office, President 
Trump's National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned in disgrace.
  Why?
  He had direct contact with the Russian Ambassador, assuring him, in 
likely violation of U.S. law, that the Obama sanctions against Russia 
would be reversed. And then he lied about it.
  There is evidence of Trump campaign officials having regular contact 
with Russians officials, and we know Russia hacked into DNC files and 
doled out stolen information with the goal of aiding the Trump 
campaign.
  So the question is: What is the Russian connection?
  Congress must do its job. We should conduct a full-scale, no-holds-
barred investigation of the links between the Trump campaign and 
Russian officials. There is a mountain of evidence we cannot ignore.
  The American people have a right to know, of course. But even more 
importantly, the enduring strength of our democracy is being tested. 
Congress must maintain our constitutional protection of checks and 
balances. Investigate now. Investigate fully.

                          ____________________