On the eve of closely watched public hearings, the Republican chairman and top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee pledged an exhaustive and impartial probe of Russian meddling in last year’s election, and any possible collusion by President Donald Trump’s inner circle.
“This investigation’s scope will go wherever the intelligence leads it,” Chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, said at a news conference Wednesday. “We will get to the bottom of this,” concurred Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the committee’s ranking Democrat.
Burr said an "uNPRecedented amount of documents" have been received, and the committee is in "constant negotiation" with the intelligence community to gain access to additional material. He added that there will be at least 20 interviews to conduct, including with President Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who volunteered to speak with the panel.
Neither Burr nor Warner revealed any conclusions reached so far, except Russia’s aims. “Vladimir Putin’s goal is a weaker United States,” Warner said. “Weaker economically, weaker globally. And that should be a concern to all Americans regardless of party affiliation.”
Until now, the House Intelligence Committee had taken the lead in the Russia probe. But that committee cancelled open hearings this week amid a firestorm surrounding its chairman, Republican Congressman Devin Nunes, who personally briefed President Trump on classified material he had not yet shared with the committee.
With the House panel seemingly in disarray, its Senate counterpart is now in the spotlight. Burr said he cast his ballot for Trump last November, but he denied that party loyalty would color his work.
Even so, a growing number of Democrats say the full truth may never come to light in Republican controlled legislative committees.
The White House has complained of a smear campaign against the president’s team, but acknowledged the need for investigations to proceed.