The Inspector General and the Department of Defense are now launching their own investigation into the former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn. This latest twist in the Russia scandal was announced today during a news conference by Representative Elijah Cummings, the senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
"I honestly do not understand why the White House is covering up for Michael Flynn. I don't get it. After the president fired him for lying. So, the president fired him for lying about his communications with the Russian Ambassador. They should be bending over backwards to help us. It does not make any sense, and it makes the American people think the White House has something to hide.
“There's obviously a paper trail, ladies and gentlemen. There is a paper trail that the White House does not want our committee to follow, but let it be known that we will follow it. we will follow it with everything we've got." —Rep. Elijah Cummings
Robert Reich’s reaction:
This week is turning out to be a giant publicity stunt staged by Trump to disguise the fact that he’s accomplished almost nothing of his own agenda as his “first 100 days” deadline looms this Saturday (the “wall,” repeal of the Affordable Care Act, tax cuts, Muslim travel ban, labeling China a currency manipulator, renegotiating NAFTA, and so on).
He also wants to deflect attention from the latest news about Michael Flynn and the FBI investigation of his campaign and Russia (see below), and the mounting ethical bog of his White House and administration.
So Trump and the White House are:
1. Pushing the House to vote on another last-minute attempt at repealing the Affordable Care Act, this one even worse than the last. But Democrats won’t budge, and it looks like moderate Republicans won’t vote for it. So right now it’s dead.
2. Pushing a tax-cut plan that will cause the federal debt to balloon $2 trillion over the next 10 years by giving giant tax cuts to big corporations and the wealthy. Neither Democrats nor Republican deficit hawks will support it. So right now it’s dead, too.
3. Saber-rattling over North Korea. Yesterday the White House bussed the entire Senate to the White House for a briefing on North Korea. Senators later said that nothing new was revealed and they were “mystified” as to why they had to go to the White House.
4. Launching another a verbal war against the judiciary -- denigrating judges who have stopped both their Muslim travel ban and their attack on sanctuary cities, and threatening to break up the 9th circuit court of appeals.
Here's what you need to keep in mind: Whenever Trump wants press coverage, you can bet it’s a cover-up for something he doesn’t want the public to know about.
By Katie Bo Williams
