After today’s outrageous hearing in the Judiciary Committee, I just arrived on the House floor to set the record straight on Russia and the Steele dossier. I’m going to read the dossier into the Congressional Record.
As we saw in today’s hearing, @HouseGOP continues to heap falsehood after falsehood to cloud reality. Trump & those closest to him have repeatedly lied about their multiple contacts w/Russian officials & Putin associates. Even now they have yet to offer a consistent explanation.
And as we’re seeing this week at NATO, Trump continues to snub our allies & parrot Putin’s version of world events. He disregards the input of our civil servants, intelligence operatives, & military officials. This betrayal has become an inexplicable routine we cannot shrug off.
While it is possible the list of campaign contacts, policy positions, & fawning Putin statements have an innocuous explanation, there is a simpler reason: has Trump been covertly influenced by Russia? @HouseGOP refuses to investigate, content w/fishing expeditions like today.
Over his life, Trump has shown an eagerness to skirt boundaries of ethics & law. He has consorted w/mafia figures. His sons have bragged about their dependence on Russian cash. His finances are unknown as his tax returns remain hidden. In short, he is a prime blackmail target.
All the while, Trump continues to praise Putin as “fine people.” He ignores his illegal annexation of Crimea, his meddling in Ukraine, his murder of journalists and dissidents, his support of Assad, and his violation of our national sovereignty in the 2016 elections.
And so, to ensure the American people and future congresses know how we got here today, I am reading the Trump–Russia dossier, also known as the Christopher Steele dossier on the House floor, and entering its entirety into the Congressional Record for all time.
Partisans may dismiss the dossier as “fake news,” but they know that several allegations in this document have been verified. Not a single thing of substance in the report has been disproven.
While history will be the final judge on these matters, what I am reading aloud are some of the allegations which we know have been proven. Please watch my speech. We must get to the truth, whatever it may be.
