Leading Republican senator, Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), isn’t ruling out a subpoena for President-elect Donald Trump while investigating claims on Russian interference.
In a statement issued Friday, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) announced a detailed plan for a detailed investigation into the validity of claims that senior officials in the Russian government, with the blessing of Vladimir Putin, committed malicious cyberattacks with the intent of influencing the outcome of the November 8 election.
US Uncut reports,
While some of the information gleaned from the investigation will be made public, Sen. Burr stated that the bulk of the hearings would be conducted in secret to avoid the publication of classified intelligence.
“The Committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads. We will conduct this review expeditiously, but we will take the time to get it right and will not be influenced by uninformed discourse,” the statement read. “When appropriate, the Committee will hold open hearings to help inform the public about the issues. That said, we will be conducting the bulk of the Committee’s business behind closed doors, because we take seriously our obligation to protect sources and methods.”
Burr, who is chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was given the task of leading the investigation by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who announced the investigation earlier this week.
One of the key bullet points in Burr’s statement was that investigators would have the authority to force high-level officials in both the Obama and Trump administrations to give a sworn testimony on any knowledge they may have of Russian involvement in the hacking of sensitive materials. The statement did not rule out subpoenas for either President Obama and/or President-elect Trump as part of the investigation:
Among other avenues of inquiry, the Committee will:
- Review the all-source intelligence that informed its assessments, including but not limited to the October 7 statement.
- Review the cyber activity directed against our nation by the Russian Government, both as it regards the 2016 Election and more broadly.
- Hold hearings examining other specific aspects of Russian behavior.
- Interview senior officials of both the outgoing and incoming administrations including the issuance of subpoenas if necessary to compel testimony.
Read the full story at US Uncut
