The American public is not tired of hearing about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, and want to know that the next election will be more secure, Rep. Eric Swalwell said Tuesday.
"They don't want to relitigate what happened in 2016," the California Democrat told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program.
"Donald Trump is the president. Unfortunately that's something we all have to live with every day, but they want to know that we're not going to look the other way and allow another country or Russia to do this again."
Swalwell said he's calling for an independent commission to examine the matter, even though the House Intelligence Committee already has an investigation under way.
"When you look at what's going on in the House Intelligence Committee, with a recused chairman issuing issuing subpoenas and running a separate investigation, that's the only insurance policy against an investigation right now that as an asterisk on it," he said.
Last week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, who recused himself earlier this year from the Russia investigation over his comments on unmasking, subpoenaed the co-founder of a Washington opposition research firm that produced an unsubstantiated dossier on President Donald Trump, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, Democrats need to become unified as a shield against further interference before the first ballot is mailed out for the 2018 midterm election, Swalwell said.
"I think this disunity only allows the Russians to sharpen their swords and be emboldened to come at us again," said the congressman. "Trump is unpopular, but I don't know what another interference campaign would do and the Russians are sitting pretty knowing we're not unified and we've done nothing. We have a commander in chief who won't acknowledge the attack. We're pretty vulnerable."
Swalwell said his message to voters who feel as if the Democratic Party has turned its back on them that they're still being heard.
"Those are the ones we need to get first," Swalwell said. " I think understanding that it's really about growing their paychecks, growing their opportunities, and making sure they can dream bigger dreams for their kids than they dreamed for themselves. That's the party we've always been. I think too many folks felt like we had lost that. And we didn't go to enough of those places."
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