Dem rep: 'We must pause the entire Trump agenda' until Russia investigation complete
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Thursday called for a "total and complete shutdown" on legislation advancing President Trump's agenda in light of reports of possible coordination between his campaign and Moscow.
The accusation followed a CNN report claiming that several U.S. officials believe that the FBI has information that suggests possible coordination between President Trump's associates and suspected Russian operatives during the 2016 election aimed at releasing hacked information to damage Hillary Clinton.
"The bombshell revelation that U.S. officials have information that suggests Trump associates may have colluded with the Russians means we must pause the entire Trump agenda. We may have an illegitimate President of the United States currently occupying the White House," Lieu said in a statement.
Cloud of treason means we must have total shutdown of any @POTUS agenda item. No votes on any item. My stmt https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-lieu-statement-report-trump-associates-possible-collusion-russia …#GetWoke
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) 9:18 AM - 23 Mar 2017
"Other than allowing routine governmental functions, there must be a total and complete shutdown of any agenda item being pushed by the Trump Administration. Congress cannot continue regular order and must stop voting on any Trump-backed agenda item until the FBI completes its Trump-Russia collusion investigation."
Lieu urged Congress to appoint a special prosecutor and form an independent commission in order to investigate the alleged contacts "with impartiality and independence."
"Congress also needs to pass the Resolution of Inquiry, authored by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and I, to compel the Trump Administration to publicly disclose information on its Russian ties to the American people," the lawmaker maintained.
"At this point in our nation's history, there is nothing more important than finding out whether or not high crimes were committed by associates of Donald Trump or possibly by Trump himself," he added.