WASHINGTON – In a bid to shift the focus on Russian political meddling, House Republicans called Tuesday for access to briefings on the 2016 election conducted by members of the Obama administration.

The request came today in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from Representatives Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan, both ranking members of the House Oversight Committee.

Noting that Congress was briefed on malicious interference prior to the 2016 elections by then-Secretary Jeh Johnson, the letters says it has been established that the Obama administration “was adequately addressing any attempted interference in the election.”

Citing their “continued oversight of the federal government’s actions in advance of the 2016 election,” Jordan and Meadows asked Nielson for documents and correspondence related to those briefings, which were also attended by President Barack Obama’s national security adviser Lisa Monaco and then-FBI Director James Comey.

Since Michael Cohen’s explosive testimony last month, the two GOP ranking members have been signing their names to letters requesting investigations into both Cohen and members of the Special Counsel team investigating Russian collusion.

In a letter sent the day after Cohen’s hearing in front of the House Oversight Committee, Jordan and Meadows accused Trump’s former attorney of perjury, saying his testimony “was a spectacular and brazen attempt to knowing and willingly testify falsely and fictitiously to numerous material facts.” As evidence of these claims, the letter includes a numbered list of proposed evidence, including alleged false statements from Cohen on his criminal record and his attempts to secure employment in the White House.

Staffers for House Oversight Committee Republicans did not answer requests for comment.

More From Missoula Current