Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer fumed Tuesday over the Trump administration’s “outrageous” decision to exclude Democrats from an upcoming meeting in which Justice Department officials will give House Republicans documents related to the FBI’s investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Republican lawmakers had been demanding DOJ release the classified documents for months.
“The only thing more outrageous than this meeting occurring at all is the fact that it’s now partisan,” the New York Democrat said. “It is crystal clear that Chairman Nunes’ intent is to interfere with the investigation, and Speaker Ryan is allowing it to happen,” referring to Reps. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and speaker of the House, respectively.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said at Tuesday’s press briefing that a meeting between law enforcement officials and Republican lawmakers to discuss the release of Russia-probe documents will happen Thursday. Democrats were not invited, Sanders said, because they “have not requested” the information the GOP lawmakers are seeking from the meeting.
Sanders additionally confirmed that Nunes and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., would attend the meeting with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and various FBI officials, yet she pushed back on the idea that lawmakers were negotiating for the documents’ release.
“I hardly call it brokering a deal to help set up and coordinate a meeting to help Congress receive information that they’ve requested,” she flatly told reporters.
