More US Republicans back independent probe of Trump-Russia ties

A small but growing number of Republican US lawmakers called on Wednesday for an independent probe of possible collusion between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia, spurred by a memo from the fired FBI chief that Trump had sought to impede the agency's investigation.

The tumult in Washington deepened on Tuesday over allegations Trump had sought to end the FBI's investigation into ties between Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Russia.

James Comey, whose firing as FBI director last week triggered a political firestorm, wrote a memo detailing Trump's comments to him in February saying "I hope you can let this go," referring to the Flynn probe, according to a source who has seen a memo written by Comey.

The Comey memo caused alarm on Capitol Hill and raised questions about whether Trump attempted to interfere with a federal investigation. The White House denied the report, saying it was "not a truthful or accurate portrayal of the conversation between the president and Mr. Comey."

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday after the reports of the memo.

Democratic lawmakers have demanded that the Justice Department name a special prosecutor to investigate potential ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.

But most Republicans have said the current Federal Bureau of Investigation probe and investigations in the Republican-led Congress are sufficient.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan stuck to that line and told reporters on Wednesday he still has confidence in Trump. Ryan also insisted the Trump controversies were not paralyzing Republican legislative efforts in Congress.

"We need the facts," Ryan said. "It is obvious there are some people out there who want to harm the president. But we have an obligation to carry out our oversight regardless of which party is in the White House."

"I'm sure we're going to go on to hear from Mr. Comey about why, if this happened as he allegedly describes, why didn't he take action at the time? So there are a lot of unanswered questions."

A few Republicans have began to call for an independent probe.

"If in fact what was in the memo is true, it's very concerning, and we need to get to the bottom of that," Republican Adam Kinzinger, a member of the House of Representative Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNN. "I think we are in the position now where it's time for an independent commission or a special prosecutor or whatever."

The latest developments have overshadowed the policy goals of Trump's Republican Party inCongress, including major healthcare legislation and tax cuts.

Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said pressure was mounting on Ryan to allow a vote on legislation creating an independent commission to take up the investigation.

Source: Ahram online