House Speaker Paul Ryan supported conservative lawmaker’s efforts to review classified FBI documents relating to the investigation of the Trump 2016 campaign, in a Tuesday press conference.
“We the people, the Congress, have given the executive branch a lot of power in this very important law, and it is really important that we conduct the proper oversight of the executive branch to make sure that that power is not or has not or will not be abused,” Ryan declared. “That’s ultimately the big picture of what is going on here, and so I think it is important that we just let the truth come out on all of these things.”
Pressed on whether it was appropriate for lawmakers to ask to see documents with the name of a confidential informant inside the Trump 2016 campaign Ryan doubled down, saying, “I do think it is appropriate in the context of the legitimate intelligence committee investigation that this information be provided to Congress. If it isn’t, we have a huge gap in our investigation.”
Ryan’s comments follow an agreement with by the Department of Justice to review the requested documents under the supervision of the White House chief of staff and other intelligence agencies.
“Based on the meeting with the President, the Department of Justice has asked the Inspector General to expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s or the Department of Justice’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday.
“It was also agreed that White House Chief of Staff Kelly will immediately set up a meeting with the FBI, DOJ, and DNI together with Congressional Leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested,” Sanders said.