Tom Reed

U.S. Congressman Tom Reed has once again called for special investigator Robert Mueller to close his investigation into Russian collusion during the 2016 presidential election.

On Tuesday during his conference call with regional media outlets, Reed was asked several questions about the Mueller investigation and President Donald Trump’s press conference statements following the summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Reed said that the open-ended Mueller investigation that has been ongoing for more than 18 months needs to come to a conclusion so those who have done wrong can be held accountable for their actions. He said no evidence has been presented to him that there was any collusion between Trump and Russia during the 2016 election. However, he does believe Russia meddled in the 2016 and during past U.S. elections.

“Russia is not our friend, and I have no doubt they have, and are trying to, meddle in our elections,” he said. “However, there is no evidence of collusion with any American, and it is time for the Mueller probe to come to a close. By completing the investigation, we will restore faith in our democratic electoral process.”

Reed was asked about former CIA Director John Brennan’s comments that failing to mention Russia’s meddling during a new conference was “treasonous” behavior by Trump. Brennan was the head of the CIA during President Barack Obama second term.

The congressman said Trump’s behavior during the news conference with Putin shouldn’t be labeled as treasonous. Reed believes the president didn’t articulate correctly what he wanted to say about Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections.

“John Brennan is more interested in political news making than focusing on the real issue of the day,” Reed said.

On Tuesday, Trump said he supports U.S. intelligence agencies and that he did misspeak during the press conference in Helsinki Monday about Russian meddling in U.S. elections. Trump also reiterated that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.