Democrats are accusing Republicans of short-circuiting the investigation into Russian meddling by the House Intelligence Committee. They accuse Republicans of slow-walking the investigation, and failing to follow certain leads and call key witnesses.
Republicans refute that characterization, citing a long list of statistics that show the depth and breadth of the investigation that has been going on for a year. According to Republicans, the Committee has recorded 164 hours of witness testimony and has reviewed nearly 300,000 documents. They’ve also held 11 open and closed hearings, producing 5,251 pages of testimony.
Democrats, however, dispute those numbers. They say the Republicans’ number of witness interviews doesn’t match their own and suspect that Republicans have either double-counted some witnesses or have conducted interviews without their knowledge.
Democrats also contend that volume of material doesn’t necessarily equal quality, and say that if Republicans remain unwilling to call key witnesses, it will show that they are simply not serious about getting to the truth.
The Ranking Member on the Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, has said that Democrats have been so frustrated in their attempts to call key witnesses, that they may soon make witness requests public, “so that the public can see in very graphic terms what the majority has deemed unworthy of investigation. I hope that step won’t be necessary,” he said.