Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., torched his Republican counterparts on the House Intelligence Committee after they released a report claiming they had found no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin during the 2016 election, ending their probe.
“While the majority members of our committee have indicated for some time that they have been under great pressure to end the investigation, it is nonetheless another tragic milestone for this Congress, and represents yet another capitulation to the executive branch,” said Schiff, the committee’s ranking member, in a statement Monday evening.
“By ending its oversight role in the only authorized investigation in the House, the majority has placed the interests of protecting the president over protecting the country, and history will judge its actions harshly,” he added. “If the Russians do have leverage over the president of the U.S., the majority has simply decided it would rather not know.”
The committee interviewed more than 70 witnesses as part of the investigation, the last one being President Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski last week.
Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who spearheaded the investigation, told reporters Monday afternoon Republicans on the panel did not find any evidence of collusion.
“We found no evidence of collusion,” he told reporters on Monday during a briefing. “We found perhaps some bad judgment, inappropriate meetings, inappropriate judgment in taking meetings — but only Tom Clancy could take this series of inadvertent contacts, meetings, whatever, and weave that into some sort of a spy thriller that could go out there.”
Conaway also said Republicans on the panel believe Russians meddled in the 2016 election, but disagree with past U.S. intelligence reports that claim Russian interference favored Trump.
“The bottom line: The Russians did commit active measures against our election in ’16, and we think they will do that in the future,” Conaway said, noting, “We disagree with the narrative that they were trying to help Trump.”
That opinion is contrary to the findings of the intelligence community.
Democrats will receive 150-page draft report on Tuesday for their review and comment, Conaway said.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Russia probes are still ongoing to investigate possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
