No Russia Collusion, House Republicans Say in Their Final Report

• April 27 2018
• Steven T. Dennis

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released a final report on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election that says they found no collusion with Moscow.

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released a final report on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election that criticized both the Trump and Clinton campaigns for “poor judgment and ill-considered action” but found no collusion with Moscow.

“While the committee found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government, the investigation did find poor judgment and ill-considered actions by the Trump and Clinton campaigns,” the committee’s GOP majority said Friday in a 243-page report. “For example, the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between members of the Trump campaign and a Russian lawyer who falsely purported to have damaging information on the Clinton campaign demonstrated poor judgment. ”

Democrats on the committee didn’t sign off on the report, which they said was incomplete and designed to protect President Donald Trump. But the president quickly claimed vindication.

“Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released,” he wrote in a tweet. “No evidence” that the Trump Campaign “colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia.” Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!”

The panel’s Republican chairman, Devin Nunes complained that the administration required the panel to black out too many passages before publication.

‘Excessive’ Redactions

“Given the substantial public interest at stake, the committee is publishing the redacted version we’ve received,” Nunes of California said. “However, we object to the excessive and unjustified number of redactions, many of which do not relate to classified information."

The committee found “the Trump campaign’s periodic praise for and communications with Wikileaks -- a hostile foreign organization --to be highly objectionable and inconsistent with U.S. national security interests.”

The report also faults Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee for obscuring their roles in paying for opposition research on Trump from Russian sources via Christopher Steele.

‘Cutouts and Intermediaries’

It said the Democrats used “a series of cutouts and intermediaries to obscure their roles, paid for opposition research on Trump obtained from Russian sources, including a litany of claims by high-ranking current and former Russian government officials.”

It said some of the research was used to produce the dossier compiled by Steele, a former British spy.

Democrats on the House Intelligence panel blasted the GOP report, calling the findings “misleading” and politically motivated.

“They have been crafted to advance a political narrative that exonerates the president, downplays Russia’s preference and support for then-candidate Trump, explains away repeated contacts by Trump associates with Russia-aligned actors, and seeks to shift suspicion towards President Trump’s political opponents and the prior administration,” Democrats wrote in a separate minority report.