Cummings: Russia probe ‘a fight for the soul of our democracy’

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said Tuesday that the FBI’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and President Trump’s campaign is “a fight for the soul of our democracy.”

“So I think every day there’s a new question that opens up. And then of course, the president cozies up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Cummings told MSNBC’s “Hardball.” “And so, we’ve got to figure it out. And I think, again, this is a fight for the soul of our democracy.”

Cummings, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, noted that Trump fired his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, weeks after he learned that Flynn had misled Vice President Pence about phone conversations with the Russian ambassador over U.S. sanctions.

“The question is … why would he have been talking to the Russians about the sanctions and what did the president know about that?” Cummings said.

{mosads}Flynn was fired from his White House post in February following reports that he discussed sanctions with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. Flynn had previously maintained to Pence and other administration officials that he did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak.

Cummings’s comments came ahead of FBI Director James Comey’s Wednesday testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the bureau’s Russia probe.

Comey during his March testimony in front of the House Intelligence Committee confirmed that the FBI is investigating Russia’s attempts to meddle in the United States presidential election and any possible links between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin.