The chair and ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking for a briefing on “the circumstances that led to the recent resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.” Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein made the request in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director James Comey, because “According to media reports, both the FBI and the Justice Department were involved.”
These reports raise substantial questions about the content and context of Mr. Flynn’s discussions with Russian officials, the conclusions reached by the Justice Department and the actions it took in response, as well as possible leaks of classified information by current and former government employees.
Accordingly, we request that individuals with specific knowledge of these issues from both the FBI and Justice Department brief Committee Members and staff. We similarly request copies of the transcripts of Mr. Flynn’s intercepted calls and the FBI report summarizing the intercepted calls referenced in the media.
The Judiciary Committee could go in about a dozen different directions with this information, from considering how Donald Trump’s inner circle responded to the Justice Department’s warning about Flynn, to treating the leakers as the real problem, a view taken by several House Republicans. But mark this as yet another committee investigating something connected to Trump’s relationship with Russia, even as Republicans continue to insist that there’s no need for a select committee.