GOP members of the House of Intelligence Committee are formally bringing the Russia probe to a conclusion. According to House republicans, the committee has not found any conclusive evidence linking Donald Trump’s campaign to Russia. The GOP members issued a 150-page report with initial conclusions stating that they are formally bringing the panel’s yearlong investigation to an end despite fierce objection from the Democrats.
There is no proof
According to NBC News, a senior Republican on the Intelligence Committee said they would begin making their recommendations known to the public since Americans have already started voting.
After reviewing more than 300,000 pages of documents and listening to 73 witnesses, the exhaustive probe has not found any conclusive evidence of the president colluding with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign, according to Rep. Mike Conaway.
Conaway told reporters on Monday that despite discovering a few "inappropriate meetings and inappropriate judgments," the committee has not come across any definitive proof linking Trump and Russia. Conaway added that anyone who follows these contacts and meetings between Trump and Russia as leads would only be weaving “a fiction page-turner spy thriller.”
Democrats are not pleased
The Democrats, on the other hand, were not happy about the Republicans' move to end the investigation.
According to Adam Schiff, D-Calif, Republicans are turning a blind eye to serious questions and are concluding an incomplete investigation. Schiff told MSNBC that despite the Republican's decision to end the investigation, Democrats would continue following relevant leads and finalize the probe without the GOP.
Conaway told reporters that he would share the draft with Schiff before officially presenting it on Tuesday to the Democrats.
The Democrats will have time to review the report, which could take a month, before releasing it to the public. The report will include details of meetings between Trump's campaign aides and Russian representatives, concluding that Trump did not conspire with Russia during his campaign. Conaway argues that ending the investigation is not aimed at discrediting Muller's efforts.
According to the Republican, the GOP members are not forcing Mueller to stop his investigation.
In January 2017, the Intelligence Committee assessed meetings between Trump and Vladimir Putin and concluded that Putin expressed a high preference for Donald Trump. The special counsel also deducted that Putin sought to influence the 2016 presidential election to further his agenda in the US.
Despite the conclusion of the House investigation, the Senate Intelligence Committee is set to continue with the Russia investigation. According to NBC, the Senate Intelligence has already scheduled interviews for the coming month.
