Stephen Colbert: House Republicans Closed Russia Probe Because 'They Don't Want To Be Sprayed With Nerve Agent'
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert jokingly suggested Tuesday night that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee brought their Russia investigation to a close because "they don't want to be sprayed with nerve agent."
On Monday night, Republicans on the committee announced that their investigation had come to a close. They said that a draft report of their findings contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies' view of Russia's attempt to interfere in the election "with respect to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's supposed preference for candidate Trump." The announcement was slammed by Democrats on the panel, including top Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who called the decision a "tragic milestone for this Congress."
A day later, Colbert had his first chance to weigh in. "Yes, after a yearlong investigation they have examined all the evidence, and they have concluded they do not want to be sprayed with a nerve agent," Colbert said. It was a reference to the recent nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K., an incident British Prime Minister Theresa May said was "highly likely" to have been carried out by Russia.
"The GOP here reached an opposite conclusion Monday from the entire intelligence community, but anyone who watched the committee work over the past year already knew that they were opposed to intelligence," Colbert added.
Indeed, The Hill reported that Democrats on the committee have claimed Republicans left several topics of the investigation untouched or inadequately explored. Democrats also vowed to continue to pursue these lines of investigation despite the committee's findings.
The end of the House committee's official inquiry has no bearing on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into Russian election interference. Thirteen Russians were recently indicted as part of the probe on charges of election interference, and there are no signs of Mueller's investigation coming to a close any time soon.
