Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace where he lambasted Democrats, leaks stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Investigation, and President Trump’s Department of Justice.
Rep. Gowdy slammed his left leaning colleagues in Congress, accusing them of trying to score political points in the Russian investigations, rather than trying to get to the truth. Citing the fact that authorities have confirmed that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee’s e-mail, Gowdy wondered why Democrats are only focusing on spurious relationships between President Trump’s administration and obscure Russian figures.
"They tried to attack the fundamentals of our democracy and that’s what I’ve spent 2017 focusing on," he said. "That to me is an American issue. I wish the Democrats were a little bit more concerned instead of reading the Moscow phonebook during the witnesses interviews trying to see if Jared Kushner knows a guy named Igor. I wish they’d help,” he said Sunday. "That’s been my focus in 2017 is understanding that Russia tried to subvert our democracy, and it’d be great if my Democratic friends helped a little bit."
He continued, “That's the most important thing to me is how unserious the Democrats in the house have been about uncovering all of the facts,” he said. “I am interested in who paid for the dossier because that helps you understand motive and intent and whether or not you can rely on the document. I am much more interested in whether or not the Department of Justice and the FBI relied upon that dossier and initiating a counterintelligence investigation or in court findings.”
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Since the start of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation in to Russian interference during the 2016 election, there have been numerous leaks on highly confidential matters. These stories have muddied the waters and contributed to dwindling confidence in the American legal system.
“In the only conversation I’ve had with Robert Mueller, I stressed to him the importance of cutting out the leaks,” Gowdy, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, told Fox News Sunday. “It’s kind of ironic that the people charged with investigating the law and the violations of the law would violate the law. Make no mistake, disclosing grand jury material is a violation of the law. Somebody violated their oath of secrecy.”
As for the institution of the Department of Justice itself, Gowdy said he at times questions what difference there is between President Donald J. Trump’s DOJ and former President Barack Obama’s. Specifically, he berated the DOJ for their lack of transparency with Congress.
“It's sometimes hard to tell the difference between the Obama Department of Justice and the current Department of Justice in terms of transparency and their willingness to share information with Congress,” Gowdy said.
“This is a really simple request. Did you rely on the dossier, and if so, did you vet it before you relied upon ii? You can answer that and 30 seconds, but it's taken three months for the Department of Justice, and only recently have they agreed to give us the information. The battle is not just with House Democrats, unfortunately it's also with the Department of Justice.”
His full interview can be seen below.
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