Trump-Russia Scandal : Can Republicans Be Trusted To Join Investigation?

By Nethani Palmani | Feb 28, 2017 02:59 PM EST

Last week, the Senate intelligence committee had sent letters to agencies, individuals, and organizations instructing them to preserve records and information pertaining investigation of the Russian hacking of the 2016 election campaign and Trump associates' ties to Russia. However, can the Republicans leading these committee efforts, who may not possibly want to unearth the real delegitimizing facts of Trump-Russia scandal, be trusted?

The Washington Post reported on Friday that Burr, the chairman of Senate intelligence committee, and Nunes, the chairman of House intelligence committee had been enlisted by the Trump administration to be a part of the extended investigation of the Trump-Russia scandal. Democratic members of both committees said that, at least for the time being, they are hoping for the best and taking Burr and Nunes at their word when they claim they are committed to conducting thorough investigations, holding public hearings, and releasing public findings.

Still, every now and then, there is considerable development in the Trump-Russia scandal story. Last week, it was reported that the White House asked the FBI to dismiss news stories that claimed Trump associates had interacted with Russian intelligence. Democrats, however, insist on having an independent commission for the Trump-Russia scandal investigation, that would be distant from congressional politics.

Democrats have called for an independent bipartisan commission, similar to the well-regarded 9/11 commission, this time to investigate the Trump-Russia scandal. This inquiry would operate outside of the congressional committee system, meaning outside of GOP control, said Mother Jones.

Both committees are under the direction of Republicans who have supported Trump and participated in White House spin efforts. Despite the questionable credibility and independence of the congressional investigations in the Trump-Russia scandal, let's hope that more findings from the FBI and other investigating agencies would unveil soon.

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