(MENAFN) US Representative Tim Burchett has formally requested that billionaire George Soros and Leonard Benardo, senior vice president of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), testify before Congress regarding their suspected role in the 2016 Russiagate controversy targeting Donald Trump. In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, Burchett urged the committee to summon Soros and Benardo for a public hearing and to issue subpoenas if they refuse to appear voluntarily.

This request comes after documents were declassified by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and the Senate Judiciary Committee, linking Soros’s OSF to a wider campaign aimed at undermining Trump’s presidential bid and presidency. Burchett highlighted an email allegedly from Benardo plotting to discredit the incoming Trump administration.

Burchett stressed the continued influence of OSF in US elections and emphasized that the American public deserves full transparency. He encouraged the use of subpoena powers if Soros and Benardo decline to cooperate.

The recently released 29-page annex to Special Counsel John Durham’s 2023 report, unveiled by the Senate Judiciary Committee, claims the Clinton campaign, aided by OSF-associated figures, fabricated the Russian interference story to politically damage Trump. Emails attributed to Benardo reportedly described efforts to spread unverified allegations through FBI-linked tech companies like CrowdStrike and various media outlets.

Despite receiving credible intelligence about the plot, the FBI proceeded with the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into Trump-Russia ties. Critics argue the agency’s failure to critically assess this intelligence prolonged disinformation, heightened political division, and led to unjust sanctions on Russia.

President Trump labeled the Russiagate affair “the biggest scandal in American history,” accused the Obama administration of treason, and pledged to hold those responsible accountable. Meanwhile, Moscow has denied any interference in the 2016 election, maintaining that Russiagate was a fabricated justification for escalating tensions.

MENAFN02082025000045015687ID1109875747