Photo Credit: Ninian Reid (CC-By-2.0)
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Tuesday called on the U.S. Department of Justice to “show its work” in the case against President Donald Trump’s first national security advisor, Lt. General Michael Flynn. He was charged with The Justice Department’s recent motion to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn in light of exculpatory evidence doesn’t absolve the government of public scrutiny or accountability, Grassley wrote in a letter to Attorney General William Barr and acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.
“Given what we now know about the government’s withholding of exculpatory information, and as critics scrutinize the department’s decision to withdraw the case, it’s imperative that the department show all of its work. Without transparency there will never be true accountability. I strongly encourage you to ramp up your efforts to shine a light on political and bureaucratic wrongdoing during the Russia investigation and declassify and produce the aforementioned records to me,” he wrote.
Grassley’s letter renews his years-old request for access to records at the heart of the government’s case, including a call transcript between Flynn and a Russian diplomat and all iterations of a report summarizing the FBI’s interview with Flynn, as well as any related records.
Grassley first requested the material in a February 2017, letter co-signed by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. The Justice Department refused to provide the records, first arguing that the Flynn case was ongoing, and later claiming that the public court filings provided sufficient transparency.
In a June 2018, letter to then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Grassley warned: “Resisting Congressional oversight only serves to further undermine public trust in the Department. By contrast, cooperation could enhance public trust in the Department by demonstrating that its work can withstand independent scrutiny. The lack of transparency feeds public skepticism about the Department’s actions regarding Lt. General Flynn and related matters.”
The recent disclosure of exculpatory department records, which prompted the motion to dismiss the Flynn case, Grassley says illustrate the merit of his early concerns as well as the need for additional transparency to restore public trust in the department.
Read Grassley’s letter below:
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