Senate pressures FBI for Russia, wiretapping information

WASHINGTON—At a hearing today, senators on both sides of the aisle asked for more openness from the FBI about its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and wiretapping allegations made by President Donald Trump.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who lead the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on crime and terrorism, convened the hearing after they wrote a letter to the FBI and the Department of Justice asking for evidence about Trump’s claim the Obama administration wiretapped Trump Tower last year. Both Graham and Whitehouse said it’s paramount all federal agencies unite to get to the bottom of Russia’s alleged 2016 meddling and the wiretapping flap.

“From my point of view, Russia is out to get us all. They want to divide us in a fashion so that their influence grows at our expense,” Graham said. “If you forgive and forget Russia, you will regret it.”

Graham said at the hearing that FBI Director James Comey had not responded to his letter but communicated to Graham’s staff he would schedule a classified briefing for Whitehouse and him at a future date.

After the hearing, Graham told reporters answering the wiretapping question is the easiest part in all these issues. He said if the Obama administration ordered a wiretap, then there would be a warrant or a court file and the Department of Justice should be able to turn that over to Congress.

“This is a difficult situation where we’ve got the current president accusing the former president of basically spying on his campaign, but, having said that, we need to know,” Graham said. “It’s not that hard of a question to answer. Either there was a warrant for it or not.”

During the subcommittee hearing, Comey conducted a meeting with Senate Judiciary Committee leaders Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., about Russia.

This week, Grassley accused the FBI of withholding information from lawmakers. He told The Washington Post he threatened to block confirmations of key Justice Department officials if he didn’t get answers soon.

Graham said Wednesday he wants to know whether the FBI is conducting its own Russia probe. The Department of Justice has not said if it is or is not investigating Russian interference in the election.

According to a January report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, CIA, and National Security Agency, Russia sought to discredit Hillary Clinton so Trump would win the presidency. The report did not conclude, however, whether Russia succeeded at swinging vote totals.

At Wednesday’s hearing, witnesses said if Russia was not reprimanded for its actions in the U.S. election, the Kremlin and enemies of the United States around the world would be emboldened to escalate.

Heather Conley, the Europe program director for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Russia exploited U.S. vulnerabilities last year.

“Our national security, and the security of America’s most important allies, rests on our ability to resist Russia’s strategy of influence,” Conley said. “Thus far, we have, unfortunately, failed.”

She added Russia’s goal was to undermine faith in U.S. institutions and, so far, they are succeeding.

Kenneth Wainstein, a former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush, said opinions about Trump are irrelevant—everyone should have concerns about Russian interference.

“I don’t think it’s a political issue,” Wainstein said. “I think it’s really critically important that [Russia sees] we are united across the board.”