March 13, 2018

Castro Statement on House Republicans’ Premature Russia Investigation Findings

Washington, D.C.—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), a member of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee, released the following statement this evening:

“The premature closing of this investigation represents a betrayal of the American people and public trust, and an obvious partisan ploy to protect the President at all costs. It’s also clear that House Republicans are trying to set a pretext to discredit whatever Special Counsel Mueller will discover through his investigation.

“The Majority conducted a see no evil, hear no evil investigation that failed to follow up on critical leads or call important witnesses. We still have yet to hear the full truth from Donald Trump Jr., Michael Cohen, Attorney General Sessions, Corey Lewandowski, Steve Bannon, Hope Hicks, and subpoena relevant bank records and electronic communications including direct messages from Deutsch Bank, Twitter, encrypted messaging applications, and telephone and other communications companies. Without following these leads, the Republican’s conclusion places the integrity and independence of the Committee and Congress’ investigative and enforcement powers at stake. There’s also simply no way to verify if we haven’t properly followed the facts.

“House Republicans have chosen to stand in the way between the American people and the truth, marking a disastrous day for our democracy.”

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