Twenty Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are urging Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) to call President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, to testify before the panel.
“We believe General Flynn must appear before the Committee, under oath as soon as possible,” they wrote Tuesday in a letter released Wednesday.
“General Flynn’s resignation leaves many unanswered questions about his and President Trump’s ties to Russia and whether America’s national security and intelligence operations have been compromised,” they added.
{mosads}“Our country’s national security, independence, and democratic institutions are at stake. As the body within the House with jurisdiction over U.S. foreign policy, we would be negligent if we left the questions about this incident unanswered.”
Wednesday’s letter was signed by Democratic Reps. David Cicilline (R.I.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), Albio Sires (N.J.), Gerald Connolly (Va.), Theodore Deutch (Fla.), Karen Bass (Calif.), William Keating (Mass.), Ami Bera (Calif.), Lois Frankel (Fla.), Joaquín Castro (Texas), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Brendan Boyle (Pa.), Dina Titus (Nev.), Norma Torres (Calif.), Thomas Suozzi (N.Y.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), Bradley Schneider (Ill.) and Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii).
Flynn resigned Monday amid reports that he misled senior White House officials about his phone conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December.
The retired Army lieutenant general said he “inadvertently” gave “incomplete information” about the talks to Vice President Pence and others.
Flynn’s resignation followed reports last week that, despite denials, he and Kislyak spoke about U.S. sanctions against Russia before Trump’s inauguration.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that Trump asked for Flynn’s resignation once the president’s trust in his adviser “eroded.”
Reports emerged later Tuesday that several of Trump’s top campaign aides were repeatedly in touch with senior Russian intelligence officials, according to intercepted phone calls and phone records.
Current and former U.S. officials told The New York Times that they had seen no evidence of collusion related to the hacking of Democratic organizations or the 2016 race, or if the talks centered on Trump himself.