Hackers, Mexican soap stars, border wall: What to know about Texan taking over House Russia inquiry
At the recent House Intelligence hearing on Russia meddling in the 2016 election,Mike Conaway had one of the more memorable exchanges with FBI Director James Comey.
He’s served in Congress for more than a decade and now has what is among the most high-profile jobs in Washington: overseeing a House probe into Russian meddling in last year’s election.
On Thursday, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) assumed the role as head of the House Intelligence Committee investigation into whether President Trump’s associates colluded with Russia during last year’s election — a move that came as Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) temporarily stepped aside from the post as he faces inquiries from ethics investigators.
Conaway, with assistance from Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.), takes charge of the inquiry as questions about Trump associates’ ties to Russia continue to hover over the fledgling administration. The Texas congressman has served on the Intelligence Committee for eight years.
“My profession as a CPA and auditor has taught me to be objective and methodical, and that is how I intend to help lead this investigation,” Conaway, alluding to his work as an accountant, said in a statement.
In addition to overseeing the Russia probe, Conaway is also chairman of the House Agriculture Committee — a position he’s held since 2015.
‘He’s not some newbie’
A native Texan, Conaway entered Congress in 2005, and his staunchly Republican district spans much of Midland and Odessa. In the years since, he’s easily won reelection.
In 2007, Conaway began chairing the three-member audit committee for the National Republican Congressional Committee. A year later, after poring over financial reports, he found that the committee was missing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ultimately it led the NRCC to release a statement, noting that its former treasurer had “deceived and betrayed” the committee.
Tisha Crow is the chairwoman of the Ector County Republican Party, where Odessa is located, and has known Conaway for nearly 15 years.
“He’ll want to know the truth and go after it fiercely,” Crow said. “He’s not some newbie to Congress. He knows how to get things done.”
Crow said Conaway is regularly seen in the district and has helped push legislation in Congress that, among other things, has helped expand oil and gas drilling, which is a prime economic driver in West Texas.
“He gets things done and will do that with this investigation,” she said.
Last year, Conaway was an early supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign.
What he has said about Russian hacking
In recent months, Conaway has faced strong pushback for some of his comments on Russia and the Trump campaign.
While speaking to the Dallas Morning News in January, he compared the use of Mexican entertainers to energize Democratic voters to the email hacking that intelligence officials have said was orchestrated by the Russian government to help Trump in the election.
“Harry Reid and the Democrats brought in Mexican soap opera stars, singers and entertainers who had immense influence in those communities into Las Vegas, to entertain, get out the vote and so forth,” Conaway told the newspaper, referring to the retired Democratic Senate leader from Nevada. “Those are foreign actors, foreign people, influencing the vote in Nevada. You don’t hear the Democrats screaming and saying one word about that.”
When asked if that was similar to Russian hacking that aimed to damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, he said yes.
“Sure it is, it’s foreign influence. If we’re worried about foreign influence, let’s have the whole story,” he said.
Support for Trump
During the campaign, Conaway, 68, did not always agree with then-candidate Trump. Throughout the campaign, Trump vowed to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to curb illegal immigration.
“The wall thing is more theater than reality,” he told a local newspaper in his district last May.
But he and his wife, Suzanne, remained steadfast in their support of Trump, even after a lewd audio recording was released in which Trump could be heard boasting about grabbing women’s genitals.
“I am voting for policies, not the personalities,” Suzanne said on CNN last fall.
Regardless of Conaway’s past support for Trump, Democrats want to see an investigation take place outside of Congress.
“The only way to get to the truth about collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government is to have an independent commission and a special prosecutor. Period,” said Eric Walker, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.
Twitter: @kurtisalee
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