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After A Heated Hearing, What We Know About Russian Intervention

FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 20, 2017, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 20, 2017, before the House Intelligence Committee hearing on allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The House Intelligence Committee, the FBI chief, and what we’ve learned about Russia, Trump and the homefront.

We do not know what we’re going to learn in the end, but that was some kind of hearing yesterday with FBI chief James Comey before the House Intelligence committee. The FBI chief affirming that the FBI is investigating associates of Donald J. Trump, president of the United States, and whether they colluded with Russia to swing the 2016 US presidential election. Republicans wanted to know about leaks. Who’s talking. This hour, On Point: Where these investigations go.  — Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Warren Strobel, ‎investigative reporter covering foreign policy, diplomacy and national security for Reuters.

Jane Harman, director, president and CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center, a nonpartisan policy forum that tackles global issues through independent research.

Gary Schmitt, co-director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the director of the institute’s Program on American Citizenship.

From Tom’s Reading List

Reuters: FBI’s Comey says no evidence of Trump wiretap claim, confirms probe — “The hearing on Monday was a rare open congressional intelligence committee hearing and it revealed a stark partisan divide in focus. Majority Republicans concentrated their questions on leaks of classified information – a concern that Trump frequently mentions – and media reports on issues such as contacts between former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russian officials. Democrats sought to highlight such links, and shoot down Trump’s wiretapping claim.”

Washington Post: Russia attacked our democracy. That demands intense review by Congress.  — “A joint inquiry into Russian actions would demonstrate that this is not simply another oversight issue but an issue that goes to the core of our democracy. Will we tolerate the hacking of our elections by foreign powers if it is to the winner’s short-term benefit? If Russia is not held accountable, Moscow will continue its assault on our democratic institutions and public officials, undermining us at home and benefiting our adversaries abroad.”

AEI Ideas: The real ‘secret’ behind Putin’s effort to affect the presidential campaign — “But what if Putin and company were not that concerned with hiding what they were doing? What if part of the Kremlin’s goal was to show how it could interfere with virtual impunity in the world’s most important democracy? No doubt the strategic value of that message would be considerable to the Russian president. Maybe that’s the real secret here.”

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