According to The Wall Street Journal, in recent weeks the federal investigation looking for potential collusion between associates of Donald Trump and the Russian government was heating up.
The incendiary situation preceded Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday. The Journal reports, “Mr. Comey started receiving daily instead of weekly updates on the investigation, beginning at least three weeks ago, according to people with knowledge of the matter and the progress of the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe. Mr. Comey was concerned by information showing possible evidence of collusion, according to these people”
The congressional investigation into Russian meddling with the 2016 presidential election was already accelerating before the announcement of Comey’s firing; the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena Wednesday for former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn to produce documents relevant to the investigation of any possible collusion. In addition, a federal grand jury in Northern Virginia had issued subpoenas for records connected to Flynn.
The potential trouble for the Trump Administration doesn’t stop there; the Senate Intelligence Committee is asking the Treasury Department for information pertaining to Trump associates or people related to his campaign, according to Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chairman of the committee.
Comey reportedly asked Rod Rosenstein, the recently-named deputy attorney general overseeing the FBI, for more personnel. He spoke of his request on Monday to lawmakers. They, in turn, asked Comey if he could speed up the investigation.
The Journal reported that despite claims from the Trump Administration that no collusion had occurred, “Some investigators are persuaded that the evidence will show more than just casual contacts. One area of particular interest for the committee is Mr. Trump’s business dealings. The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked for information from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, a division of the Treasury Department.”
Eleven people on the congressional staff are working on the Senate investigation, which is focused on intelligence reports, including those from the NSA and the CIA.