Delaware senator calls for Trump investigation

U.S. Senator Chris Coons urged former Trump rival Ted Cruz to investigate Donald Trump’s statements urging Russia to find emails belonging to Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

While Democrats were gathering in Philadelphia last week for their convention, Donald Trump stole the spotlight with comments he made referencing Clinton’s missing emails from her private server. “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” said Trump, during a news conference. 

The Clinton campaign accused Trump of encouraging Russian espionage against the Democratic candidate.

Now, Delaware Senator Coons and Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, both Democrats, are calling on Ted Cruz to step in. In addition to being a primary opponent of Trump, Cruz is also the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight. Coons and Whitehouse called Trump’s Russia comments “dangerous and irresponsible.”

In a letter to Cruz, the senators asked for an investigation. “We ask that you conduct an oversight hearing to determine whether existing federal criminal statutes and federal court jurisdiction sufficiently address conduct related to foreign entities that could undermine our elections.”

They said the oversight hearing would help “ensure the integrity of the presidential election and its insulation from Russian cyber threats.” They also said Trump’s comments threatened the privacy of a U.S. citizen and former government official … and if performed by the U.S. government, would contravene the Fourth Amendment.”

After the bitterly divisive Republican primary, there was no love between Cruz and Trump. Last month, Cruz used his speech at the Republican convention to urge voters to “vote their conscience,” rather than endorsing Trump. It’s not clear if that division between the Republicans would be enough for Cruz to hold hearings against the GOP nominee, just months before Election Day.

You can read the senators’ letter below: