On Wednesday, Republican Senator Susan Collins (a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee) said she would be open to subpoenaing Donald Trump’s tax returns, which she thinks could yield some information about Russian ties. Collins comments arrive as her office is getting flooded with calls from frustrated constituents and a string of lawmakers have experienced contentious town hall meetings.
Collins has been one of the few Republicans to vocally scrutinize Trump, going so far as to be one of the two GOP members not to vote for Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. Trump has yet to release his tax returns (which he may never do), and House and Senate leaders haven’t seen it as a priority. However, Collins said issuing a subpoena could yield results about Russia:
“This is a counter-intelligence operation in many ways. That’s what our committee specializes in. We are used to probing in depth in this area.”
She even floated the idea of having former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn testify before the Committee, as his lie about his call to the Russian ambassador led to his resignation. But Collins comments come as she is facing her own issues, as voters have flooded her staff with complaints that she hasn’t listened to their concerns. She says many calls to her office appeared to be from out-of-town.
Due to the calls and unreturned emails, constituents asked for a town hall meeting, which she passed on to favor one-on-one meetings. That’s probably a smart move, considering how town-hall audiences have not been friendly to GOP Congresspeople lately.
(Via NBC 4-New York, The Hill, New England Cable News & Boston.com)