Trump Must Call for Select Committee if He Wants to Clear his Name & Answer Questions About Russian Interference in 2016 Election

Statement by Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn

President-elect Trump must call for a Joint Bipartisan Select Committee if he wants to clear his name and answer questions concerning the extent to which Russian government interference helped him win the presidency. Trump’s continued dismissals of the U.S. intelligence community’s findings of a coordinated effort authorized by Vladimir Putin and Russian intelligence agencies waging a concerted campaign to help elect him to the presidency are deeply troubling. Blaming the Democratic National Committee for being hacked by Russian intelligence agency assets is irresponsible as is his praise of the information hacked and released by the Russians. If President-elect Trump truly wants to put the 2016 election behind him and confirm the legitimacy of his election he must call for a Select Committee to investigate the matter immediately. 

The Select Committee must be comprised of equal numbers of Republican and Democrats to avoid partisan gamesmanship over this vitally important investigation. Too often in the past the party in power – both Democrats and Republicans – has withheld the findings of investigations. The goal of the Select Committee must be to reassure the American people about the security and integrity of our election process. Breaches must be identified and solutions proposed.  It is in President-elect Trump’s, and more importantly the nation’s, best interest to fully investigate and vet all the allegations, learn what we can, and move forward. If there is nothing to hide and no concern about the hacks, that will come out clearly through the Select Committee process.