Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel capitalized upon the resignation of President Donald Trump‘s Russian-tainted National Security Advisor to push legislation that would hit Moscow and its agents with even tougher financial sanctions.
Lieutenant General Michael Flynn abdicated his post last night with the admission that he spoken in December with Russian Ambassador Kislyak about eliminating the strictures President Barack Obama laid against the country for its campaign of pro-Trump hacking during last year’s election—and that he, Flynn, had misinformed Vice President Mike Pence about the content of those conversations. Since it occurred during Obama’s tenure in office, Flynn’s conversation with Kislyak could constitute a federal crime under the Logan Act, which forbids private citizens from engaging in negotiations with hostile foreign powers.
Engel, the ranking Democrat on the Republican-controlled House’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, noted that Flynn’s confession marks just the latest shadowy exchange between Trump’s inner circle and the highest echelons of the Kremlin.
“Far too many questions remain unanswered about this administration’s ties to Russia,” Engel said in a statement, calling for broader and more comprehensive probe of the president’s Russian connections than Republicans have yet agreed to. “We know Putin was working to tip the scales in President Trump’s favor. We need a thorough, bipartisan investigation to get the complete picture of Russia’s interference in our election.”
