Press Releases

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) issued the following statement calling on President Trump retract his outrageous allegations against former National Security Advisor, Ambassador Susan Rice:

“President Trump has yet again accused someone of breaking the law without any evidence. His latest baseless attack was leveled against National Security Advisor Susan Rice. It’s obvious the "Distractor in Chief" hopes Americans will focus on his latest outrageous insult, and ignore his cozy relationship with the Kremlin, something his own former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has a proven record of engaging in.

But facts, once again, don’t matter to Trump. Intelligence officials on both sides of the aisle say they have seen no evidence that Ambassador Rice acted in a way that justifies Trump’s claim. And to besmirch and scapegoat an experienced diplomat, Rhodes Scholar and public servant like he’s done is offensive and demonstrates his utter ignorance of the Intelligence Community and its policies. Donald Trump clearly wants to distract from the need to conduct a broad, bipartisan and open investigation into the influence that Vladimir Putin has had on our democracy, his campaign and the White House. The President should retract his groundless accusation, and refrain from making unfounded allegations. It’s beneath the office he holds.”

Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz also joined Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Africa, and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Florida), Chair of the Democratic Women’s Working Group, on a joint letter signed by more than 30 Members of Congress that called on the President to retract his offensive allegations. The letter appears below:

April 6, 2017

The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President
United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC  

Dear Mr. President:

As women Members of Congress, we write to you today to express our deep concern about the outrageous and offensive allegations being made about former National Security Advisor, Ambassador Susan Rice. In particular, we are disturbed by your comments you made to the press yesterday, April 5th, from the Oval Office accusing her of committing a crime while offering no evidence, in spite of the fact that former intelligence officials from both sides of the aisle have stated that nothing they have seen would lead them to such a conclusion.

As you may be aware, Ambassador Rice has decades of foreign policy and diplomacy experience, is respected internationally in her field and was a Rhodes Scholar. She has dedicated her entire career to public service and this is not the first time her reputation has been maligned with untrue, harmful allegations. The reality is that these types of distractions and scapegoating allegations not only harm reputations, they turn attention away from the real issue, which is the need for an independent investigation into Russia’s interference in American elections.

We call on you to retract your statements suggesting that the accomplished and respected woman has committed a crime and ask that you are thoughtful in the future before hurling insults and accusations that are unfounded and unproven.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress