The Senate Intelligence Committee, still investigating the matter of Russian interference in the 2016 election, has yet to tackle its most challenging, and possibly divisive, matter – whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
That work will not begin until after November’s high-stakes election, which could result in Democrats retaking majorities in Congress. Officials insist the timeline is not intended to let lawmakers avoid having to address a divisive issue before the midterms.
In a brief interview, [Chairman Richard] Burr (R-NC) promised the committee would release additional findings at some point this month, as it has periodically upon reaching conclusions about election security and the quality of the intelligence community’s assessment about Russia’s activities in 2016. The committee’s next preliminary reports are expected to address the Obama administration’s response to the Russian threat and the role social media companies played in the dissemination of Moscow’s disinformation campaign.
“We hope in the next two weeks to give everybody a status update,” Burr told The Washington Post recently. “We’ll be very specific on where we are and where the path forward is.”
But leaders are no longer confident they can wrap up their interviews, much less their final report, by the year’s end.
“We’ve been at it this long, we need to continue, finish in a thorough manner,” Warner told The Post. Asked whether tackling the collusion question would strain the panel’s cohesion, he added, “Time will tell.”
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The committee has not finished its interviews, Burr said, noting that the roster has grown “significantly” since the probe began in January 2017. It is possible, too, aides to the committee said, that unforeseen developments, especially resulting from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s parallel investigation, could require additional interviews.
Several of the 100-plus witnesses already interviewed have been questioned about allegations Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Kremlin, but the committee has not yet set out to draw conclusions from their answers.
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The longer the process goes on, there is a greater chance its conclusions will hew to those reached by Mueller’s team, many Democrats argue. Mueller’s probe is widely seen as the ultimate arbiter of whether the activities of Trump and his subordinates were incidental or nefarious.
Panel Republicans are less eager to adhere to Mueller’s timeline — but also wary of prematurely shuttering the probe.
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“You don’t want to end it earlier than it needs to, because you may be walking away from the potential to acquire additional information and testimony that might be relevant to our findings,” [Senator Marco] Rubio (R-FL) said.
Committee leaders estimate it will take three to six months to complete a final report.
Senate panel’s Trump-Russia probe still faces its toughest test: The collusion question (WaPo)