Congressman Swalwell Launches Webpage Outlining Trump's Ties To Russia
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- East Bay Congressman Rep. Eric Swalwell launched a new webpage Wednesday for the sole purpose of highlighting the ties between the Russian government and the Trump administration.
The new webpage, Protect Our Democracy, lays out what Rep. Swalwell (D-CA) says are the many ties between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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In January, Swalwell a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act to set up an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.
"Our intelligence agencies have concluded with high confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin orchestrated these cyber attacks in order to influence the 2016 election to favor then-candidate Donald Trump," Swalwell said.
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The webpage, Swalwell explains, aims to help the public understand the context in which the bill was introduced.
The webpage spells out why the Congressman believes an investigation is necessary.
With links to dozens of sources, reports and news articles describing Russia's threat to U.S. allies, as well as Russia's alleged attacks on press freedom and the alleged war crimes committed by Russia, the public does get a clear sense of why Swalwell wants an investigation.
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Sources include a 2016/2017 Amnesty International report on Russian military activity in Syria that states, "Some Russian air strikes appeared to be indiscriminate or to amount to direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, which would constitute war crimes."
He also provides a timeline of cyber attacks allegedly carried out by Russia.
"Despite Russia's harmful national interests against the U.S., and its human rights violations around the world, President Trump and his team are directly and indirectly tied to Russia," Swalwell's website states. "President Trump has also surrounded himself with people who do business with and are sympathetic to Russia."
Swalwell describes the connections between Trump and eleven of his associates to Russian business interests and the Kremlin. The associates include Rex Tillerson, Jared Kushner, Jeff Sessions, Michael Flynn and others.
"Why is America's leader and his team so close to Russia? Swalwell writes.
"This is either due to poor judgement or a deeper personal, financial, or political link between President Trump and Russia. It is not normal for the leader of our country to be so extensively tied to a foreign government that has sought to undermine democracies across the globe, and connections like these should be concerning to American citizens everywhere," writes Swalwell.
Trump has categorized allegations about his close ties with Russia as "fake news."
By Hannah Albarazi - Follow her on Twitter: @hannahalbarazi.