This is not The Onion: Eight members of Congress, all Republicans, spent America's Independence Day in Russia.

Seven senators — John Kennedy (R-LA), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) — and one House member, Kay Granger (R-TX), are all in Moscow over the Fourth of July holiday this week for talks with Russian lawmakers and officials, according to reporting from the Washington Post, NPR, and investigative reporter Julia Davis.

This news is shocking for a number of reasons.

First of all ... it was the Fourth of July, for crying out loud. On a day where America celebrates its independence from tyranny and the establishment of its democracy, Republicans broke with precedent to meet with a tyrannical regime that tried to undermine American democracy by meddling in the 2016 elections.

Secondly, this week marks the first time in four years that a U.S. congressional delegation has gone to Moscow, and the first time since Russia annexed Crimea, which set off a firestorm of international criticism and led the U.S. to impose sanctions on Russia. Recently, however, Trump has suggested that Russia should not be punished for its illegal annexation.

Third, you might think it makes sense to send U.S. lawmakers to Russia in order to pave the way for Trump's scheduled summit with Putin on July 16. But as NPR reports, this trip was actually planned before the summit was announced.