New House Oversight Chairman Kills Off Committee’s Russia Investigation

Trey Gowdy Chaired the 29-Month Long Benghazi Investigation Against Hillary Clinton

The incoming chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight hasn’t officially taken over and yet he has just announced he will disband the investigation into Russia’s illegal intervention into the U.S. election, including any possible collusion between Donald Trump and his team, and Russia, and even any elements of obstruction of justice. Politico first reported the news Friday afternoon.

For two and a half years Tea Party Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy mercilessly investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as chairman of the United States House Select Committee on Benghazi. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy admitted on national television that the committee was created solely to discredit Clinton, in advance of her expected presidential run. Nevertheless, after spending between $7 and $10 million of the taxpayers’ money, holding over 30 separate hearings, interviewing hundreds of witnesses, and producing an 800 page report, Congressman Gowdy was unable to find any new evidence of wrongdoing. He did submit Secretary Clinton to an 11-hour long congressional grilling, which elevated her credibility and star status at the time. Immediately after her testimony on camera Gowdy admitted the committee had learned nothing new.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) is the new chairman of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, replacing Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who resigned, some say mysteriously, and leaves office at the end of the month.

Gowdy told reporters Friday the investigation, including into Russian president Vladimir Putin’s direction to hackers to wage a cyberwar against America, their accessing of election systems in at least 21 states, possible collusion between Donald Trump, his team, and Russia, and possible obstruction of justice by the President of the United States are all “in the jurisdiction of Bob Mueller,” the Special Counsel appointed by the Dept. of Justice. 

And despite chairing the Clinton Benghazi investigation from May of 2014 until it was disbanded in December of 2016, Gowdy said: “If I would devise an inefficient way to gather facts, I don’t know that I could devise anything better than five-minute increments alternating between Republicans and Democrats.” 

Exceptionally political, Gowdy framed his decision to reporters as merely wanting to give Robert Mueller space.

“I told Bob Mueller Tuesday that I would never do anything wittingly or unwittingly that veered over into his lane, and his lane is broad and undetermined at this point.”

And he’s made clear no one in the White House will be under his committee’s scrutiny on anything related to Russia.

Gowdy, Politico reports, “said not to look to him to pursue Kushner since it could be a criminal issue.”

“Allegations of criminal or quasi-criminal activity is squarely within Mueller’s jurisdiction,” Gowdy said. “So the process by which security clearances are granted, if that needs to be tightened, amended, changed, I’m all for it. The revocation of previously existing security clearances… we don’t investigate crime.”

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