Trump and Putin met privately in Helsinki in July for more than two hours with only interpreters present.
Democrats launched a sweeping new probe of President Donald Trump on Monday, an aggressive investigation that threatens to shadow the president through the 2020 election season with inquiries into his White House, campaign and family businesses.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said that his committee has begun the probe into possible obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power and that the panel is sending document requests to 81 people linked to the president and his associates.
The broad investigation could be setting the stage for an impeachment effort, although Democratic leaders have pledged to investigate all avenues and review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report before trying any drastic action. Nadler said the document requests, with responses to most due by March 18, are a way to “begin building the public record.”
“Over the last several years, President Trump has evaded accountability for his near-daily attacks on our basic legal, ethical, and constitutional rules and norms,” Nadler said. “Investigating these threats to the rule of law is an obligation of Congress and a core function of the House Judiciary Committee.”
Now that Democrats hold a majority in the House, the new probe is a sign that Trump’s legal and political peril is nowhere near over, even as the special counsel’s Russia investigation winds down. The move all but guarantees that potentially damaging allegations will follow Trump for months to come as Democrats try to keep them in the public eye.
It is also an indication of the Democrats’ current strategy — to flood the administration with oversight requests, keeping Trump and his associates on trial publicly and also playing a long game when it comes to possible impeachment. While some more liberal members of the Democratic caucus would like to see Trump impeached now, Democratic leaders have been more cautious.
