House Republicans are pushing a new investigation into the Justice Department and FBI as they seek to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The House Intelligence Committee is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the United States Intelligence Community, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
House Republicans To Target FBI
The committee was established during the 108th Congress in 2003 to replace the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which was established after the September 11 attacks to oversee all intelligence agencies.
The House Intelligence Committee is one of two standing committees in Congress with jurisdiction over all American intelligence agencies. It has jurisdiction specifically over those agencies under Section 102a(c)(1)(A)–(C) of Title 10, U.S. Code:
- The Department of Defense;
- The Department of State; and
- The Department of Energy
The House Intelligence Committee is turning its sights on the Justice Department as it seeks to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The committee, led by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California), has issued subpoenas for documents related to the federal government’s use of FISA warrants to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The dispute over those documents has become a flashpoint between Democrats and Republicans who have been locked in a partisan battle over whether Trump’s campaign was infiltrated by Russian agents to influence or steal Election Day results.
House Republicans are trying to discredit the investigation into whether Trump colluded with Russia during his campaign by saying it was based on false assumptions made by people who had political motivations — namely former FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — and that those assumptions were used as a pretext for spying on members of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team.
They also claim that there isn’t any evidence showing that anyone on Donald Trump’s team actually did anything wrong (like conspiring with Russian agents). So House Republicans are trying to find out if there was ever any evidence supporting those claims made against members of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team or whether all of this has been an effort by some people inside government agencies like the FBI or CIA who want revenge against Donald Trump because they didn’t like how he won in 2016?