Yeomans: Congress Must Do More to Educate Public on Russia Probes

Washington, D.C., September 28, 2017 – In the latest edition of Yeomans Work, “Time to Step Up Your Game, Congress,” AFJ’s Ronald Goldfarb Fellow for Justice, Bill Yeomans, writes that it’s critical for Congress to prepare the American public now for the outcome of the investigations of possible Russian ties to the Trump campaign and Trump aides. Yeomans writes:

“[I]n an investigation of the magnitude and public consequence of the Russia inquiry, the lead falls to Congress to create a public record that paves the way both for possible indictments or impeachment, and for legislation that may be necessary to prevent Russian interference in the future.  Absent education of the public, none of this will happen.”

He notes that very little information about the investigations has been made public, which may backfire when the probes come to their conclusion. One worrisome potential outcome: that “shockingly bad things emerge from the investigations and an uninformed, ill-prepared and overwhelmed public simply shakes them off as more noise in this already loud era.”

As Yeomans observes, President Trump has already been working hard to undermine the legitimacy of the investigations by calling them part of a “witch-hunt.” Now is the time for Congress to step forward and establish trust and a level of education about the process under way.