Alexandra Glorioso , alexandra.glorioso@naplesnews.com; 239-435-3442Published 1:25 p.m. ET Feb. 19, 2017 | Updated 6:04 p.m. ET Feb. 19, 2017
When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, penned a column the very next day, called “Making Putin pay.”
When President Barack Obama failed to punish Russian officials for human rights violations that same year, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, called him out in a letter.
When Russian troops landed in Ukraine that year, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart tweeted that Obama’s “reset” with Russia was full of #BrokenPromises.
But these once-outspoken Russia bashers have fallen conspicuously silent in the wake of reports about investigations into contacts between advisers to President Donald Trump and Russians.
These Miami-based Cuban-American lawmakers — descendants from the island whose dictator was once bankrolled by the communist regime — would appear to be natural rabble-rousers. But their muted response stands in contrast to past criticism.
On Feb. 13, Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned after news reports indicated he misled administration officials about discussing sanctions with Russia before Trump was in office. The next day the New York Times reported that Trump’s campaign advisers had ongoing conversations with Russian officials throughout the campaign.
In this Feb. 1, 2017, file photo, National Security Adviser Michael Flynn speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) (Photo: Carolyn Kaster, AP)
Related story: Fired a month in: Michael Flynn's rise and very fast fall
Ros-Lehtinen, who is chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs committee and sits on the intelligence committee, declined to be interviewed for this story. An aide said she was too busy and was focusing her energy on Venezuela, which is more important to her district.
"Our House Intelligence Committee, of which I am a member, has been outlining the parameters and scope of a Russia investigation and a bipartisan investigative team has been formed to examine documents. As the spokesperson for our Committee said yesterday, we aren't excluding anyone or any entity from our examination and we expect to be interviewing former and current officials of our government. I hope that a report issued following the investigation will be made available to the public," Ros-Lehtinen said in a written statement.
In Washington, Republicans and Democrats differ on which committees should investigate Flynn’s relationship with Russia. Senate Democrats are calling for an independent review conducted in the open, while many Republicans want to defer to the GOP-led Senate’s intelligence committee that would convene behind closed doors.
Related story: Trump, Russia and Flynn: A timeline of key events
Even Rubio has been relatively quiet in recent days. Rubio sits on the Senate's foreign relations and intelligence committees and grilled Trump Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing on Russian dealings. Rubio also joined Republican Sens. John McCain, of Arizona, and Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, in pushing a bipartisan bill that would force Trump to confer with Congress before reducing any sanctions on Russia.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks during a news conference June 3, 2016, in Doral. (Photo: Alan Diaz/AP)
Rubio hasn’t released his own statement on the latest revelations about Trump advisers' contacts with Russia, but he repeated a carefully measured one when recently cornered by reporters in the hallways of Washington’s Capitol.
"The jurisdiction for counter-intelligence programs falls under the intelligence committee, which is undertaking a bipartisan investigation which I have full confidence will either do a very good job and will conduct a serious inquiry. And if it doesn't, which would surprise me, then I'll be one of the first ones out there to say that it didn't do that, because I want us to conduct our job in a way that is responsible, professional and important to our country,” Rubio told reporters Thursday.
Rep. Carlos Curbelo, another staunch Miami-based Cuban-American critic of the Putin regime, was also unavailable for an interview, but he issued a statement.
"Recent reports about possible interactions and alleged conversations between the presidential transition team and Russian intelligence officials are troubling and should be thoroughly investigated,” Curbelo said in the statement.
Related story: 5 ways Congress is investigating Russia-Trump ties
Spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez said Curbelo wouldn’t weigh in on whether additional investigations were necessary until “existing bipartisan investigations reach their conclusions.”
Diaz-Balart said every president had to learn the hard way how to deal with Russia and that, for now, he wanted to give Trump the benefit of doubt.
“All we have are reports and things he’s tweeted, but that’s not enough information,” Diaz-Balart said. “I’ve heard of nothing that would indicate illegality. I do, however, believe it would be very difficult for this administration to be weaker, more inept and do more to appease Putin, who is a thug, than Obama.”
Diaz-Balart said he was “reserving judgment” on whether Trump advisers were inappropriately close to Russian officials during the campaign and noted he wouldn't be part of the investigations if they go forward.
Related story: Donald Trump's ties to Russia go back 30 years
By comparison, another Cuban-American, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, of New Jersey, said the actions that led to Flynn’s ouster this week reveal a larger problem in the administration.
"General Flynn's resignation and the stories that are emanating from that seem to me to be only the tip of the iceberg,” said Menendez, a member of the Senate’s foreign relations committee. He aligns with other Democrats in wanting an independent investigation of Flynn.
“I do believe the very integrity of our systems is at stake, and that's why the best way to achieve that goal is through an independent investigation," Menendez said.
USA TODAY NETWORK reporter Herb Jackson contributed to this story.