House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) reportedly continues to reject Democratic efforts to dig deeper on the issues of Russian election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion.
The Daily Beast says minority committee members want to compel Twitter to turn over direct messages (DMs) from Trump associates' accounts, but Nunes is refusing to issue subpoenas.
Sources would not share with The Daily Beast specifically whose DMs committee Democrats wanted to subpoena Twitter to acquire. But in hearing transcripts, Democrats have indicated they want DMs concerning Donald Trump Jr. and Trump consigliere Roger Stone—both of whom have been linked to WikiLeaks, which famously released hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 campaign.
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“A complete investigation would subpoena relevant communications records—including Twitter messages—to corroborate or contradict witness testimony,” added Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat on the committee and a former prosecutor.
“The GOP has been unwilling to do that. If we don’t do that, we are conducting a take-them-at-their-word investigation. There are too many Trump team members who are not worthy of being taken at their word.”
Democrats who want to subpoena Twitter for the private messages of Trumpworld figures are operating on the theory that the communications would either reveal substantive discussion of election machinations tied to Russia or vindicate the denials of actual and potential Trump-camp witnesses. But the Republicans have sat on the requests instead of fulfilling them or denying them outright.
Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) has indicated that the Twitter DMs are just one piece of possible evidence the majority is stonewalling.
Among the information Schiff said the GOPers had declined steps to acquire are subpoena requests for unspecified Trump Jr. documents and unspecified Deutsche Bank records. (Trump is approximately $360 million in debt to Deutsche Bank, which faces accusations of acting as a vehicle for Russian money laundering, and there are disputed reports that Mueller has served subpoenas on the bank.)
Meanwhile, Rep. Nunes is happy to use his subpoena power freely in his ongoing assault on Fusion GPS, the FBI, and the DOJ.
He hasn’t seen fit to subpoena Twitter for the DMs, but has subpoenaed Fusion GPS, the political research consultancy that sponsored ex-British spy Christopher Steele’s dossier. That followed on an August subpoena (PDF) to the FBI and Justice Department for documentation surrounding their “relationship” to Steele and the dossier. More recently, Nunes has announced unilateral plans to investigate Trump investigators and members of the Obama administration, either at the current Justice Department or the State Department under John Kerry.
On Tuesday, Nunes submitted a list of 10 questions "to current and former intelligence, law enforcement, and US State Department officials" about the Steele dossier.
"If you do not provide timely answers on a voluntary basis, the Committee will initiate compulsory process," Nunes wrote in his February 20 letter, obtained by Fox News. He told the officials to respond by March 2.
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Here are the 10 questions Nunes wants answered:
- "When and how did you first become aware of any of the information contained in the Steele dossier?
- In what form(s) was the information in the Steele dossier presented to you? By whom? (Please describe each instance)
- Who did you share this information with? When? In what form? (Please describe each instance)
- What official actions did you take as a result of receiving the information contained in the Steele dossier?
- Did you convene any meetings with the intelligence community and/or law enforcement communities as a result of the information contained in the Steele dossier?
- When did you first learn or come to believe that the Steele dossier was funded by a Democrat-aligned entity?
- When did you first learn or come to believe that the Steele dossier was funded by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and/or Hillary for America (Clinton campaign)?
- When did you first become aware that the Steele dossier was used to obtain a FISA order on Carter Page?
- Was President Obama briefed on any information contained in the dossier prior to January 5, 2017?
- Did you discuss the information contained in the Steele dossier with any reporters or other representatives of the media? If so, who and when?"
GOP Refuses to Ask Twitter for Private Messages in Russia Probe (Daily Beast)
Devin Nunes has 10 questions for the FBI on the Trump dossier (Business Insider)