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Obama orders review of Russian hacking probe
President Obama ordered a review of the recent Russian probe and all previous hacking attempts aimed at influencing US presidential elections since 2008. Obama expects the review to be completed before Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th. The review is intended to help reveal the motive behind the Russians' hacking and help the US government begin to take steps to respond to foreign cyber meddling.
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Senate Intelligence Committee launches investigation
The House intelligence committee has launched an investigation, led by Senator Mike Conaway and Senator Adam Schiff, that will focus on determining the extent of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, along with the allegations of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.
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Senate Judiciary Committee launches investigation
The Senate Judiciary Committee has announced the launch of an investigation, led by Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, into the circumstances that led to national security advisor Michael Flynn's dismissal, along with an inquiry into who is responsible for leaking classified information to the press. -
James Comey meets with Senators about Russia
FBI Director, James Comey, met with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed-door briefing to discuss how extensive their investigation into Russia's influence in the 2016 presidential election will be.
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National Security Advisor Micheal Flynn resigns
National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has resigned from his post shortly after the Attorney General expressed concerns that Flynn was left in a compromising position after he purposefully misguided senior administration officials about his communications with a Russian ambassador, and was now more susceptible to blackmail. -
House Intelligence Committee launched an investigation
The House intelligence committee announced that they will begin a third investigation, led by Senator Mike Conaway and Senator Adam Schiff, regarding Russia and the 2016 presidential election. This investigation will focus on clarifying what involvement Russia had in the 2016 election, Russia's motives for its involvement, and the potential links between Russia and the Trump administration. -
Jeff Sessions recuses himself from Russia investigation
As one of his first public acts as Attorney General, Jeff Sessions has recused himself from any investigation regarding Russian involvement in influencing the 2016 presidential election. Sessions removed himself from the investigations after it was revealed that he did have contact with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, despite claiming during a previous confirmation hearing that he had not met with any Russian officials about the Trump campaign. -
Comey testifies in front of House Intelligence Committee
FBI Director James Comey testified at the first public hearing of the House Intelligence Committee regarding links between Russia and the Trump administration. -
House Oversight Committee launched investigation
The House oversight committee announced that they have begun an investigation, led by Representative Jason Chaffetz and Representative Elijah Cummings, into the contact that former national security advisor Michael Flynn had with Russian officials, along with the foreign payments he received and subsequently left off of his application for security clearance. -
Flynn offers to be interviewed in exchange for immunity
Michael Flynn offered to be interviewed by Congressional investigators in charge of examining the collusion between Trump's administration and Russia in exchange for immunity from prosecution. However, the investigators were not willing to negotiate a deal with Flynn until they had a better understanding of the information that he could offer. -
Investigation launched against Michael Flynn
The Pentagon's inspector general has launched an investigation into unauthorized payments that former national security advisor Michael Flynn received from foreign governments. Flynn is known to have had contact with Russia and to have lied about the nature of that contact. The launch of this investigation only adds to the suggestions that the Trump administration has close ties to foreign governments and has constantly attempted to keep those ties hidden. -
FBI Director James Comey Fired
President Trump abruptly fired FBI director James Comey for mishandling the investigation of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. However, Trump had publicly praised Comey for his "guts" in going after Clinton during the election. Furthermore, Comey was the head of the FBI investigation regarding allegations that Trump had colluded with Russia to influence the election. Consequently, Comey's sudden termination has left many Americans suspecting that this was Trump's attempt at a cover up. -
Flynn invokes Fifth Amendment Right
The former National Security Advisor has refused to comply with the Senate Intelligence Committee's subpoena for him to provide documents about Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Flynn's lawyers argue that the context of the subpoena has made it clear that anything he provides could be used against him, so Flynn has decided to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to prevent self-incrimination.
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Is this investigation a proper use of Congressional power or a political witch hunt?
The launching of these investigations was proper use of Congressional power because there have been serious allegations made against Trump and his aids colluded with Russia to influence the election. -
Is there enough evidence to suggest Russian interference in the election or collusion with the Trump campaign
Although there is has been no evidence that confirms Trump himself or any of his aids actually colluded with Russian officials to influence the election, there is sufficient evidence to prove that officials in the Trump administration were in contact with Russia during his campaign. -
What should we do next?
The next step should be to continue conducting a thorough investigation so that Americans can finally have an understanding about the extent of Russia's influenced the election, as well as the nature of Trumps relationship with Russia.
