Congressman Cohen Expresses Concern at House Intelligence Committee Republicans Ending Probe, Tillerson Firing

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) expressed deep concern and condemned the decision by the House Intelligence Committee to drop its incomplete probe of Russian meddling and Trump campaign collusion in the 2016 election.

Congressman Cohen added that the signal sent by Trump's firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is that overt criticism of ongoing Russian meddling in other nations' elections will not be tolerated.

"House Republicans on the Intelligence Committee have demonstrated that their fealty to the President comes before their oath of office. They will not stand up to the ‘No Collusion' rantings of this president who seems willing to defend Russia at all costs while they seem to be willing to defend Trump at all costs.

"The firing of Tillerson is curious since published reports indicate he appears to have been the choice of Russian President Vladimir Putin to weaken our diplomatic presence around the world. However, Tillerson's recent statements on Russia's poisoning in the United Kingdom and the acknowledgment of its electoral manipulation at high levels of the U.S. government appears to be out of sync with a President who declines to impose Congressionally mandated sanctions and never says anything against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Some honest assessment of these developments is still possible and it is my hope the Senate Intelligence Committee's and Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigations will eventually throw enough light to permit a discerning public to see the truth.

"I've lost faith in the House Judiciary Committee, on which I serve, doing its duty by examining the President's actions, but I will continue to press it to act. Like the House Intelligence Committee, they don't want to follow the evidence because, to quote Jack Nicholson's character in A Few Good Men, they ‘can't handle the truth.'"