Opinion: Sen. Feinstein’s release of the Fusion GPS transcript gives us what we haven’t had much of under Trump: the truth

To the editor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is to be commended for releasing the August 2017 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony of Glenn Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, the firm responsible for the research leading to the controversial dossier on President Trump. (“Sen. Dianne Feinstein releases Fusion GPS transcript, escalating dispute with Republicans over Russia probe,” Jan. 9)

Simpson’s testimony was not classified, so it should have been made public as soon as it was available. We have had to put up with a lot of lies and innuendo about the validity of the dossier, and we needed a balanced account of why this document was published in the first place.

For years, Trump promoted the lie that President Obama was not born in the United States, even going so far as to say he found proof for his claim. Since then, Trump has lied repeatedly about many issues.

I don’t see any congressional investigation into those lies, and yet the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee care so much about determining the truthfulness of the Trump dossier. This is one instance where citizens are demanding the truth, with the hope that honesty in politics could become the norm and possibly lead to better protection against foreign interference in our elections.

Barbara Snider, Huntington Beach

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To the editor: We are fortunate to have a strong leader as California’s senior senator.

Feinstein understands that the Russian meddling in our election will likely occur again if something is not done about it. Her decision to release the transcript of Simpson’s testimony is a step in the direction toward the changes that need to be made to protect our democracy.

Thank you, Sen. Feinstein, for your strength and dedication.

Roberta Schiller, Los Angeles

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