“We need the facts,” Ryan said at a news conference Wednesday morning. “It is obvious that there are some people out there that want to harm the president.”
Ryan spoke a day after The New York Times reported that Trump attempted to influence the FBI investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Authorities said Russia meddled in the election to benefit Trump. No evidence has been presented to suggest Trump campaign officials worked with Russia.
>> Related: Poll: Most Americans want special prosecutor for Russia investigation
“We can’t deal with speculation and innuendo and there’s clearly a lot of politics in play,” Ryan said. “Our job is to get the facts and to be sober in doing that.”
There are multiple open investigations into possible Trump-Russia ties.
The Senate Intelligence Committee last month subpoenaed former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, seeking documents related to the panel’s investigation into Russia’s election meddling. Flynn was forced to resign in February after serving just 24 days after he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contact with Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S.
Unidentified sources told The New York Times that a day after Flynn’s resignation, Trump encouraged then-FBI director James Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn.
>> Related: Report: Trump asked Comey to drop Flynn investigation
The revelation prompted questions about whether Trump obstructed justice with his request.
“There is plenty of oversight that is being done,” Ryan said. “What we do is dispassionately do our jobs, and make sure that the investigations follow the facts, wherever they may lead.”
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