Three House Democratic chairmen demanded in letters Monday that the White House and the State Department provide documents and witness interviews pertaining to communications between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The letters were signed by Representatives Adam Schiff, Eliot Engel and Elijah Cummings and sent to acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, asking for detailed information on contacts the two presidents had.
The Democratic chairmen are seeking information on whether Trump or anyone working on his behalf tried to “conceal,” “obscure” or “misinterpret” the nature of his contacts with the Russian president, and whether their communications had an impact on foreign policy, CNN reports.
In the letters, the Democrats say they are demanding information on “the substance of President Trump’s communications with President Putin, including any discussion between the two individuals — during in-person encounters and phone calls — on matters that are within the committees’ jurisdiction” and “whether any such communications have provided a basis for reconsideration, modification, or implementation of foreign policy.”
They are also requesting that any individuals with knowledge of the communications be made available for interviews as well as that documents related to the 2018 summit in Helsinki between Trump and Putin be released to them. It remains a mystery what the two leaders discussed during their meeting as only translators were present.
After the meeting, President Trump shocked the public and the intelligence community by siding with Putin and saying he believed the Russian leader when he said his country didn’t meddle in the 2016 presidential election. According to news reports, Trump went to great lengths to conceal notes and other information detailing those one-on-one talks.
“These allegations, if true, raise profound national security, counterintelligence, and foreign policy concerns, especially in light of Russia’s ongoing active measures campaign to improperly influence American elections,” the chairmen wrote in separate letters to Mulvaney and Pompeo.
The State Department said it would cooperate with the committees, but refused to comment any further.
The three chairmen have set a March 15 deadline for the documents to be provided.
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