Washington, D.C. (July 11, 2018)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary, called for the release of the full unclassified transcript of the 11-hour, closed-door interview of FBI Agent Peter Strzok, which includes hundreds of questions by Republicans regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing criminal investigation of President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“Despite repeated promises by Republicans that they would not interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, they asked hundreds of questions during our recent interview of Peter Strzok demonstrating that their investigation has become exactly that—an attempt to obstruct Special Counsel Mueller’s work and act as President Trump’s defense counsel,” said Cummings.

“We call on our Republican Chairmen to release the full unclassified transcript of Mr. Strzok’s interview so the American people can see for themselves what Republicans are doing with their hard-earned tax money. This investigation is a political charade—a platform to elevate far-right conspiracy theories and undermine the Special Counsel’s ongoing criminal investigation of the President and his campaign aides, which has already produced five guilty pleas and criminal charges against 23 individuals and entities,” said Nadler.

Republicans promised repeatedly that they would not interfere in any way with Special Counsel Mueller’s ongoing criminal investigation:

On December 6, 2017, Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy wrote that he “specifically communicated to Special Counsel Robert Mueller I would not wittingly or unwittingly interfere with an ongoing criminal probe.”

On March 18, 2018, Gowdy declared on Fox News Sunday, “I don’t know what Mueller has found. I’ve been really very clear, leave him alone. Let him do his job.”

On June 28, 2018, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte stated that he and Gowdy “had no intention of interfering with the substantive investigation of Mr. Mueller.”

Republican Interview Questions—By The Numbers

Contrary to these promises, Republicans asked hundreds of questions during the interview of Peter Strzok regarding Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, while essentially ignoring critical issues in desperate need of congressional oversight:

The Special Counsel’s investigation of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign and the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference with the election — more than 200 questions

Russia’s actions to interfere with the election — fewer than 5 questions

Agent Strzok’s conversations with the Special Counsel and his team — more than 30 questions

President Trump’s conversations with Director Comey to stop or interfere with the investigation of his campaign — 0 questions

Agent Strzok’s extramarital affair — more than 25 questions

National security impact of Russia’s interference in the election — 0 questions

FBI’s confidential human sources — 25 questions

Risks to confidential human sources of Republican House investigations — 0 questions

Agent Strzok’s voting practices — more than 10

Russia’s actions regarding the upcoming 2018 elections — 0 questions

Examples of Republican Questions

Republican questions included a host of queries designed to identify confidential human sources currently being used in the ongoing investigation; questions about George Papadopoulos, Christopher Steele, Glenn Simpson, and Carter Page; questions about the classified FISA process; and even personal questions about Mr. Strzok’s extramarital affairs and how and when he voted: