Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday that the Russia-linked Facebook ads could be the reason for the Senate Intelligence Committee’s special news conference on Wednesday.
“The connection between the Trump campaign, possibly, and Russian meddling in our election is now a matter of investigation for the special counsel as well as the Judiciary Committee. I can’t tell you what kind of new perspective they’re going to offer,” Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said on CNN.
He said that he has “some idea” about what the news conference may be about, but said, “I can’t preview the news that they’re breaking.”
Mr. Blumenthal, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said his committee’s investigation is operating “independently” from the Intelligence Committee and special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, so he did not know exactly what information they may have.
He did say that the Facebook ads have created another element to all of the investigations, and created a “broadening” and a “widening” of the scope of the special counsel.
Facebook turned over thousands of ads to congressional members this week as part of the ongoing investigations, and a new CNN report reveals the ads specifically targeted Wisconsin and Michigan. Facebook says that the 3,000 ads were seen by about 10 million people. The ads focused on political campaign topics like Black Lives Matter and gun rights, according to CNN.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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