Republicans on the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees have said that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is not releasing transcripts related to the investigation into whether President Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia and, now, they want access to the materials.
A letter written by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), signed off by about 20 other GOP representatives, called for access to the transcripts and other material related to the Russia collusion probe.
“We understand now that Chairman Schiff is blocking the release of these transcripts,” they alleged. “This news, if accurate, is disturbing—especially in light of Chairman Schiff’s cries in 2019 for transparency regarding allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.”
A spokesman for Schiff did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“For nearly four years, prominent Democrat politicians and commentators alleged that President Trump colluded with Russia, with Chairman Schiff going so far as to say that he had ‘direct evidence’ of collusion,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. “Now that these allegations have been disproven by several investigations, the American people deserve to have transparency about why public figures such as Chairman Schiff continued to promote such wild accusations.”
Schiff was one of the top Democrats who claimed that Trump’s campaign conspired with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election.
The Republican House members then called for a release of the materials and “require access to this material for our ongoing oversight of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” according to their letter, which was sent to Schiff and Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes (R-Calif.).
Last year, the Justice Department’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, released a report that the FBI made 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the Russia collusion probe, including renewals to surveil former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. Meanwhile, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team said they found no evidence that Trump had conspired with Russia.
The letter was signed by Jordan, and Republican Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), James Sensenbrenner (Wis.), Mike Johnson (La.), Debbie Lesko (Ariz.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Carol Miller (W.Va.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Doug Collins (Ga.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Clay Higgins (La.), Bob Gibbs (Ohio), Greg Steube (Fla.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Kelly Armstrong (N.D.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Guy Reschenthaler (Pa.), Ben Cline (Va.), Steve Chabot (Ohio), Glenn Grothman (Wis.), Jody Hice (Ga.), James Comer (Ky.), Michael Cloud (Texas), and Chip Roy (Texas).
