Immigrants from the Soviet-bloc countries call for a full investigation of ties between the Russian Government and President Trump’s Administration
We, the undersigned immigrants from Soviet-bloc countries, call for a full investigation into numerous allegations that President Trump and members of his administration have direct ties with the Russian government and serious conflicts of interest that may pose national security threats to the United States of America. We left our countries of origin under a wide variety of circumstances, but what unites us all is our dedication to democracy and a desire to live in a country free from government oppression and corruption. We do not want to see the type of government that destroyed our countries of origin take hold in the United States.
Russia’s current government does not adhere to democratic values, as evident by the country’s atrocious record in human rights, freedom of the press, and corruption. Just as an example, the Cato Institute ranks Russia at 115 out of 159 in terms of human freedom, and Reporters Without Borders ranks Russia at 148 out of 180 in freedom of the press. Behind these numbers are real tragedies. There are those who have been killed, including Paul Klebnikov (2004), Alexander Litvinenko (2006), Anna Politkovskaya (2006), Sergei Magnitsky (2009), Boris Nemtsov (2015) and many others. There are those who have been imprisoned for their opposition, including Alexei Navalny and the members of the female punk band Pussy Riot who were imprisoned for an anti-Putin performance at a cathedral that lasted less than a minute. But there are also the daily tragedies of millions of people in Russia and old Soviet-bloc countries who continue to suffer from systemic corruption, disregard for human rights, and limits to their freedom of expression. This is not the type of government that the Unites States should condone and most certainly not the type of government that should be allowed to interfere in the United States political process.
There are reports of several investigations that have been started in relation to the various allegations of Russia’s ties with President Trump’s election campaign and current administration, including the investigations by the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). We support these efforts, but also call for a full bipartisan investigation that adheres to the following principles:
(1) Set-up a bipartisan select committee in the Senate, made of representatives from other relevant committees, including Intelligence and Judiciary Committees.
(2) All emails and other records relevant to the investigations must be preserved, including documents from the Trump campaign, the transition team, and the administration.
(3) Campaign and transition officials who were potentially involved in communication with Russian officials must be made to testify publicly and under oath before congressional committees conducting the investigations. Those made to testify should at a minimum include Paul Manafort, Sergei Millian, Michael Flynn and Carter Page.
(4) President Trump must disclose his tax returns and financial interests to the bipartisan committee for evaluation of whether the President’s financial interests pose a conflict of interest or could be used by Russia to exert pressure on the administration.
(5) The Department of Justice must appoint an independent Special Counsel to oversee the investigation being conducted by the FBI. All current and past members of the Trump administration and his campaign must recuse themselves from an investigatory role. For example, Attorney General Jeff Sessions must recuse himself because of his role as a national security adviser to the Trump campaign.
The scope of the investigation needs to encompass the full breadth of the allegations that have surfaced, including, at a minimum, an investigation of the following allegations:
(1) Unethical coordination and potential collusion of Trump’s presidential campaign with the Russian government, including any knowledge that Trump’s campaign may have had of Russia’s cyber attack on the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
(2) Conflicts of interest arising for President Trump and members of his administration as the result of Russian government’s possession of compromising materials, which may be personal, financial, or ethical in nature. This should include an inquiry into the 2008 sale of $95 million Trump property to Dmitry Rybolovlev and alleged ties between Trump businesses and the Bayrock Group.
(3) Discussions between Russian government officials and members of Trump’s campaign and administration pertaining to the various sanctions against Russia. This should include a full investigation of Michael Flynn’s actions and the administration’s knowledge of those actions.
(4) Ties between Russia’s sale of 19.5 percent of Rosneft with the elections. This should include investigation into the suspicious death of Oleg Erovinkin, a top adviser to Igor Sechin and an executive at Rosneft, on December 26, 2016.
It is imperative that this investigation is performed expeditiously, thoroughly, transparently, and in a manner that alleviates any reasonable concerns of interference from President Trump and his administration. Failing to put these allegations to rest threatens democracy, which cannot flourish in an environment where citizens are concerned that the President of the Unites States and members of his administration are colluding with an autocratic regime to win elections or to enrich themselves.
We call on all members of the legislature on both sides of the isle to take this issue extremely seriously and immediately initiate a bipartisan investigation into Russia’s involvement in our presidential elections and Russia’s ties with President Trump and his administration.
Get a copy here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4gM1iUZCp-MRHBqTVQ5eG84ZFU/view
General template for a letter supporting a Russia-Trump investigation: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B4gM1iUZCp-MN0hpNy1FX0s3bk0
