Nydia M. Velazquez: “Another week in Washington and, yet, more evidence mounts; our election and the White House have been compromised by…”

“Another week in Washington and, yet, more evidence mounts; our election and the White House have been compromised by Russia. This week we learned one of the President's informal advisers--a mercenary who founded the company Blackwater--met secretly with a Putin representative and attempted to establish back-channel conversations between the Trump administration and Russia. Remember, this comes after we found out the President's son-in-law met with Russian banking officials. It comes after it was reported that the Attorney General likely perjured himself before Congress about his own meeting with Russians. Sadly, it comes after there were chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Let us recall that Assad's closest ally in that horrific civil war has been--you guessed it--Russia. It is imperative we unearth all of the links between this administration, Russia, and Russia's hacking of our election. The House Intelligence Committee's investigation has become a farce. We need a thorough, independent investigation. Appoint a special counsel now. ____________________”