On the heels of the resignation of President Donald Trump’s top national security adviser, both of Maine’s U.S. House members hope probes will reveal what Russia did to try to influence last year’s presidential election.
“I’ve heard from thousands of concerned Mainers who feel less safe in President Trump’s America,” U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “Even after his national security adviser resigned, President Trump has done nothing to dispel fears that he is indebted to Vladimir Putin and the Russian government.”
Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, resigned late Monday after admitting he misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about a pre-inauguration talk with a Russian ambassador. It was the latest in a series of revelations about Russian meddling in the election and its ties to some Trump aides.
Pingree, who represents the 1st Congressional District, said, “Americans deserve to know how tight Russia’s financial, personal and political grip is on President Trump.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, whose 2nd District includes Lewiston and Auburn, expressed his concern in milder terms.
His spokesman, Brendan Conley, said both the House and Senate intelligence committees are “engaged in an inquiry on Russian involvement in attempting to influence American democracy.”
“I would expect these committees to continue their job reviewing any matter related to intelligence and our national security,” he said. “It is important we understand what any nation has done, or may do, to influence our democracy.”
Pingree is one of 197 co-sponsors of the Protecting Our Democracy Act that seeks to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate Russia’s influence on the presidential election and Trump’s administration.
Neither Pingree nor Poliquin are members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Maine’s two U.S. senators, Republican Susan Collins and independent Angus King, are members of the Senate’s intelligence panel. They have both expressed a desire to get to the bottom of what Russia did or did not do to influence the election and U.S. politics.
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