Cal Dirt has exclusively obtained a copy of a letter sent by Orange County congressional candidate Harley Rouda to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher calling on the beleaguered congressman to publicly release his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee regarding a swath of issues relevant to Rohrabacher’s ties to Russia and his pro-Russia policy advocacy.
The letter demands that Rohrabacher “release to the public your full testimony to the House Intelligence Committee” noting that “At present, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are blocking the release of your testimony.”
Rouda’s letter also states that “reporting by the Los Angeles Times… reveals that you met with two Russian nationals that you presumed to be spies. The uncontradicted reporting also says that the outcome of your Russian meeting was as follows: You used information from individuals that you presumed to be Russian spies to lobby fellow Members of Congress on the Magnitsky Act.”
The letter adds that “you admit using taxpayer dollars and official House of Representatives resources to change U.S. policy in support of the underhanded agenda of the Russian Federation – the United States’ foremost geopolitical adversary.”
That language echoes language used by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney during a 2012 debate with President Obama, and is likely designed to get the attention of Republicans who may read the letter.
The full letter can be viewed here.
Notably, the letter links to two articles by the LA Times, one titled “Rohrabacher’s brushes with Russia probe complicate his reelection bid” and the other “Democrats say they’ll release sealed Rohrabacher testimony if they gain a House majority.”
Of course, the overwhelming likelihood is that if the Rohrabacher testimony is unsealed by Democrats, the incumbent will by that point be a former congressman. Real Clear Politics rates the race as a “toss up”; the most recent poll in the race shows Rohrabacher 2 points ahead, well within the poll’s 5+ point margin of error. Presumably, if Democrats retake the House, it will be in part thanks to a Rouda victory on Tuesday.
