Democrats should reopen the investigation over Russia when they win the House

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats in the House should reopen the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections when they won the majority in November. But they should be selective in what they investigate.

California Representative Adam Schiff, the highest representative of the intelligence services committee in the House of Democrats, said his party should "ruthlessly prioritize the most important issues first."

The Republican-led Intelligence Committee was the only committee in the House to have investigated Russia's interference. His investigation is now closed. Republicans say they have found no evidence of collusion between Russia's campaign and President Donald Trump.

Democrats say Republicans have ignored key facts and important witnesses and want to revive some parts of the investigation when they win the House. But some Democrats also worry about a political risk if they went beyond the objectives.

Schiff and other lawmakers said that they were closely monitoring the investigation by the special advocate Robert Mueller and the investigation conducted by the Senate in Russia, in order to seek out the gaps that they could fill. And if Mueller publishes conclusions, their investigation plans could change.

"My feeling is that we want to be specific," said Eric Swalwell, representative of California, a Democratic member of the intelligence panel.

Here is an overview of what Democrats are likely to investigate if they win a majority in the House.

Schiff repeatedly reiterated that a priority for Democrats would be to determine whether the Russians were using laundered money for transactions with the Trump organization.

Trump companies have benefited from Russian investments over the years. Schiff said that he wanted to know if "it's the way of pressure the Russians have" on Trump.

Other committees may also want to look at money laundering, including the House Financial Services panel.

It is unclear whether Mueller is investigating money laundering related to the president's business.

Democrats published in March a list of dozens of people that the committee had not yet interviewed during the closing of the investigation on Russia. Democrats would like to bring in some of these witnesses, but probably not all of them. Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates and George Papadopoulos, former advisers to the Trump campaign, are among them. They all pleaded guilty to various charges in connection with the Mueller investigation and cooperated with prosecutors.

The important witnesses whose credibility has been questioned by the Democrats could also be recalled. That includes Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty in federal court in August for violations of election campaign funding and other charges, and Trump's prominent supporter, Erik Prince, who met the Russians during the campaign. Prince was provocative during an interview with the intelligence group in December.

"I believe there are those who have been less than honest with us," said Illinois Representative Mike Quigley, a Democratic member of the committee, referring to Cohen and Prince, among others.

Democrats have also said they want additional documents that Republicans have refused to call.

House Republicans have limited their investigation of Russia to the intelligence group, which traditionally conducts most of its affairs in secret. The Democrats would likely stagger the investigation on several other committees, open it and allow public hearings with Trump's top officials.

The Texas representative, Joaquin Castro, a Democratic member of the intelligence panel, said that they would strive to be more transparent. The Republican inquiry was "a way to keep everything behind closed doors," he said.

The Democrats would also insist that Mueller be transcribed an interview, which the Republicans had resisted. The committee recently voted in favor of publishing most of its transcripts in Russia, but it is not known when this will happen.

Democrats have asked for more information about President Donald Trump's son, Jr., as well as communications with his father and other associates related to a June 2016 meeting between officials of the campaign. Mr. Trump and a Russian lawyer.

According to the phone records that he provided to Congress, Trump Jr. had a call with a number blocked several days before the meeting was held. he said he did not remember with whom. The Democrats want to assign additional phone numbers because Trump Jr. insisted that he had not warned his father of the meeting in advance. They also want more information about her communications with Hope Hicks, a former communications assistant at Trump.

Democrats can also search for direct messages on Twitter between Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks, the website that posted e-mails from senior Democratic officials during the 2016 campaign. Trump Jr. posted these direct messages, in which the website asked him to report his leaks.

Democrats in the majority would probably demand the publication of Trump's tax returns, a task that would fall to the House Ways and Means Committee. Trump broke a decades-long tradition by refusing to publish his returns during the campaign. The Republican Chamber and the Senate refused to ask for them.

Legislators hope that Trump's access to taxes would reveal information about its financial complications with other countries, among others. But getting them may not be easy. Congress tax drafting committees can obtain tax records from the IRS in accordance with the law, but it is possible that the Trump administration refuses to hand them over, triggering a fight in court.

Since the Republicans closed the investigation on Russia earlier this year, Democrats members of the intelligence services group have conducted some of their own investigations even though they did not have the power to to appear. Cambridge Analytica, a data analysis company that was formerly employed by the Trump campaign, has made progress in acquiring data from millions of social media profiles. They also investigated Republican operator Peter W. Smith, who was working to get emails from Democratic Hillary Clinton from Russian hackers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Smith died shortly after talking to the newspaper.

A Democratic House would probably try to pass a bill to protect the Mueller Special Council. Trump has repeatedly criticized Mueller and his investigation, calling it a witch hunt. Anxious to know if Trump could attempt to fire Mueller, the Senate Senate Judiciary Committee approved a law in April that would give any special advocate ten days to apply for expedited judicial review of the dismissal. The bill would have the effect of legislating in the existing regulations of the Department of Justice that a special advocate can be dismissed only for just cause.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to address the bill in the Senate. But Democrats in the House would be expected to pass their own special bill on protecting lawyers if they got the majority.