GOP congressman says an independent Russia probe is the only way to ensure 'justice has been served'

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published 17 May 2017

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) announced Wednesday that he now thinks "it's time" for an "independent commission or special prosecutor" to investigate President Trump's ties to Russia. "I'm not sure the best venue. But I think it's time that we do whatever is necessary that when this is over, we give people confidence that either way, either way it goes, justice has been served," Kinzinger told CNN's Alisyn Camerota, the morning after the news broke that Trump had apparently urged former FBI Director James Comey to drop the investigation into ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn resigned after it became clear he'd misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversation with a Russian ambassador.

Camerota pressed Kinzinger on whether this meant he's "lost faith" in Congress' ability to carry out a fair investigation of Trump. Kinzinger insisted he hadn't, calling Congress' continued work "really good." "But yesterday, when we begin to see memos ... when we begin to hear things about the potential of asking the FBI director to stop an investigation, this has raised real red flags in the level of seriousness," he said. "And so we need honest, non-political answers."