Nancy Pelosi: We Need a Russia Investigation Independent of Mueller’s Special Counsel

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued a call for an independent investigation into Trump campaign collusion with Russians just moments after Special Counsel Robert Mueller unsealed indictments for campaign operatives Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, who have turned themselves in to federal authorities.

Pelosi’s statement mentions the collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia but does not address recent revelations about Hillary Clinton’s ties to a discredited dossier about Trump and Russia.

Pelosi said in the statement:

Even with an accelerating Special Counsel investigation inside the Justice Department, and investigations inside the Republican Congress, we still need an outside, fully independent investigation to expose Russia’s meddling in our election and the involvement of Trump officials. Defending the integrity of our democracy demands that Congress look forward to counter Russian aggression and prevent future meddling with our elections.

Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, and his business associate Gates were asked to surrender in response to charges from Mueller’s investigation into accusations that the campaign colluded with Russia to defeat Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Manafort was spotted by reporters leaving his home in Virginia on Monday as he traveled with his lawyer to an FBI building in Washington, D.C., where he reportedly surrendered.

The Justice Department has confirmed that Manafort was permitted to surrender himself to the custody of the FBI. Read the full indictment here.