6 Questions for the McCain Russia Hearing

Senator John McCain is holding hearings Thursday on cyber threats, with the involvement of Russia in the recent U.S. election obviously front and center in that discussion. Here are some of the key questions that need to be resolved before we can begin to understand the incoming Trump administration’s unwillingness to acknowledge Moscow’s attacks against American democracy:

1. Is Donald Trump — or any member of his family — reliant on loans, partnerships, investments or other financial obligations that involve the Russian government, Russian entities, or Russian individuals? Only the release of at least the last five years of Trump’s full tax returns (and not just summaries) can begin to address the questions over Moscow’s seemingly powerful sway over Trump.
2. How much was National Security Adviser designate Michael Flynn paid by Russia Today and/or other Russian entities for his appearance at a gala with President Putin, lobbying or other services by his consulting firm, or to make other speaking or media appearances?
3. What is the status of the FBI investigation into Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page, who may have served as a key conduit between Russian intelligence services and the campaign even as Russian spies hacked American political institutions?
4. How many times has Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson met with Putin or Rosneft head Igor Sechin, both former KGB agents? Did they discuss lifting of U.S. sanctions imposed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and did Tillerson suggest that Exxon would help lobby against those sanctions?
5. Trump confidant Roger Stone said in October, “I do have a back-channel communication with [Wikileaks head Julian] Assange, because we have a good mutual friend. That friend travels back and forth from the United States to London and we talk. I had dinner with him last Monday.” Who is this mysterious back channel and why was Stone so eager to promote Russian hacking?
6. Will all government agencies in a Trump administration continue to support sanctions on Russia for its use of hacking during the U.S. election and its invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea?

Without answers to these questions, the American people cannot know what Donald Trump and his family and staff knew about Russia’s hacking of the American election or how the Trump administration will handle attacks on America’s democracy.