Bloomberg Politics is reporting what has been suspected from the start: Republicans and Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee will issue two separate reports on the Russia investigation.
A Republican “majority” report will assert there’s no evidence of Russian collusion with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign based on what the committee has learned so far, according to two of the officials. Democrats are likely to counter with a minority report asserting there’s plenty of substantive evidence pointing to collusion, while saying they weren’t given enough time to investigate it, the officials said.
Representative Mike Conaway (R-TX), who has been heading up the GOP end of the Russia probe since Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) partially stepped aside due to a related ongoing ethics investigation, says he's had enough:
“I got a farm bill to write,” he said. “I don’t need a career on this issue. So I’ll try to get a report done, and move on.”
Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), the top Democrat on the committee, believes the inquiry is far from finished.
“I think we have a great deal of more work to do,” Schiff said.
Bloomberg points out that in spite of the partisan infighting, which seems to have escalated in the last couple months, the committee has gotten plenty done and continues to forge ahead:
About 235,000 documents have been turned over to the probe, while investigators and members have visited seven countries to question officials in foreign intelligence services, according to a committee official. The committee has conducted more than 50 transcribed witness interviews, with a total of 145 hours of testimony.
Both Attorney General Jeff Sessions and unofficial Trump transition advisor Erik Prince appeared before the committee Thursday. And earlier in the week, the panel met with translator Anatoli Samochornov who was present at the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting.
Full story: House Lawmakers Plan Competing Reports on Trump Investigation (Bloomberg Politics)