Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress President and CEO Neera Tanden issued the following statement on the explosive news that the Russian government may have “compromising personal and financial” information about President-elect Donald Trump and that he may have conspired with the foreign power.
The intelligence dossier presents profoundly disturbing allegations; ones that should shake every American to the core. They must be fully investigated. The charges levied in this dossier of, among other things, conspiring with a foreign power are extremely serious and call into question whether Trump can be trusted to defend America. Indeed, his repeated attacks on the U.S. intelligence community might have been an effort to undermine its credibility precisely because it possessed such potentially damaging information on his past and present activities. Donald Trump’s failure to comply with basic norms of transparency by releasing his taxes and disclosing his business ties and debts exacerbate this growing cloud of concern.
The new revelations demand an independent, bipartisan select committee to investigate all of the allegations of the dossier, including Russian actions to target the election and the Trump campaign’s connections to that operation. An authoritative body must thoroughly investigate all of these allegations and deliver a detailed public report. We must rebuild the American people’s confidence in the U.S. electoral system and the legitimacy of our political leaders. To do less would ensure the public would continually worry what our leaders have to hide.
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