[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4890]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CALLING FOR INDEPENDENT COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE ACTIVITIES OF THE 
                                KREMLIN

  (Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Mr. Speaker, as revelations of Russian 
interference in our democracy continue to emerge, the need for a full 
and transparent investigation by an independent commission could not be 
more clear. The reason is simple: We need badly to restore trust in our 
government.
  Though the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have begun 
related inquiries, neither will have fully investigated the activities 
of the Kremlin or its agents. Not a single member of the administration 
has testified under oath about their contacts with Moscow. The inherent 
politicization of these committees has made it nearly impossible for 
any congressional body to render the nonpartisan, irrefutable answers 
the American people deserve.
  As a member of the House Oversight Committee, I echo Senator John 
McCain's call that Congress ``no longer has the credibility to handle 
this alone.'' Now is the time for an independent commission to fully 
investigate the ties between the Kremlin and the White House, along 
with Russia's broader interference in our democracy.

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