Senate panel says Russia intervened in 2016 election to help Donald Trump, undercut Hillary Clinton
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Former campaign consultant and close associate to President Trump, Roger Stone, admitted to meeting with a Russian man in May 2016 claiming to have “dirt†that could help Trump be elected. Veuer’s Maria Mercedes Galuppo has more.
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WASHINGTON – The Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday it agreed with U.S. intelligence agencies’ assessment that the Russian government tried to boost President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and weaken Hillary Clinton.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., had already announced in May that they agreed with the January 2017 report by the intelligence agencies. However, the full committee has now concurred and released the official, unclassified summary of its initial findings.
“The Committee concurs with intelligence and open-source assessments that this influence campaign was approved by President Putin,” the senators wrote. “Further, a body of reporting…showed that Moscow sought to denigrate Secretary Clinton.”
The report released Tuesday is the second installment of the committee’s findings so far in its ongoing investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. A final report –which will attempt to answer the central question of whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin – is expected to be released by early fall. The issue of collusion could test the committee’s bipartisan cooperation.
More: House passes resolution demanding that DOJ hand over more documents in Russia probe
Related: Giuliani: Trump won’t pardon targets in Russia probe while investigation is taking place
The Senate panel’s conclusion about the motivation behind Russia’s meddling stands in contrast to the findings of the House Intelligence Committee. Republicans on the House committee said in March that U.S. intelligence agencies failed to prove their conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to help Trump beat Clinton.
Democrats on the House committee protested, charging that GOP leaders rushed to end the investigation before key witnesses were interviewed and crucial documents were obtained. Democrats have said that the panel’s Republicans, led by Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., are trying to protect Trump.
In its 2017 report, U.S. intelligence agencies wrote that Putin “ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election.” The report said Moscow had a “clear preference” for Trump and sought to undercut Clinton while also undermining the U.S. democratic process.
The Senate committee, in its findings released Tuesday, agreed.
Senators previously released their findings on how to improve election security. The committee is also expected to issue findings on how Russia manipulated social media to influence American voters and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin to win the election.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is leading a separate, criminal investigation into Russian interference, possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.
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