Thread: Senate to scrutinize initial intel report concluding Russia meddled in election to bo

Senate to scrutinize initial intel report concluding Russia meddled in election to boost Trump

By Dan Boylan - The Washington Times - Friday, May 11, 2018

The lead drafters of the explosive January 2017 U.S. intelligence report asserting that Russia acted covertly to boost Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election will be privately grilled by the Senate next week.

Late Friday, the Senate Intelligence Committee announced it will hold a closed-door hearing on the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections” to evaluate the “research and writing” that went into the document.

Witnesses to provide testimony include former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former National Security Administration Director Admiral Mike Rogers. Former FBI Director James Comey, whom Mr. Trump fired almost a year ago, has also been invited.

The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, according to a press release from committee chairman Sen. Richard Burr, Republican North Carolina, and the panel’s top Democrat, Rep. Mark Warner, Virginia.

The 15-page ICA report was issued two week’s before Mr. Trump took the oath of office in January 2017 and is considered a watershed moment in American history.

Never before had the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI — the joint authors of the report — challenged the legitimacy of a U.S. presidential victory.

Ever since its release Mr. Trump has dismissed the document’s findings and pointed to it as evidence that “an American deep state” consisting of establishment Washington figures and agencies — has conspired to undermine his presidency.

Russian officials have repeatedly denied any meddling in the 2016 vote.

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Senate intel panel sets hearing on report alleging Trump-Russia collusion

By Bradford Betz | Fox News
1 hour ago

The Senate Intelligence Committee plans this week to question the lead drafters of a U.S. intelligence report that accused Russia of manipulating the 2016 presidential election to boost the prospects of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the panel, told reporters last week that the group plans to wrap up its investigation into Russian meddling by August.

“This gives staff the month of August in all likelihood to wrap up our investigation and for staff to work intensely while we’re out of here and not getting in their hair,” Burr said.

According to a late Friday news release from Burr and the panel's vice chairman, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the closed-door session will be held Wednesday.

Released two weeks before Trump’s January 2017 inauguration, the U.S. intelligence community assessment, titled “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections,” was an unprecedented collaboration among the nation's leading intelligence agencies to examine whether Russia had any influence on the 2016 election.

Trump has repeatedly shrugged off accusations of collusion with Russia as a conspiracy put forth by the federal government's “deep state” to undermine his presidency.

Russian officials have likewise denied any involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

Former FBI Director James Comey will reportedly not attend Wednesday's scheduled Senate Intelligence Committee hearing due to a "previously scheduled engagement." (Associated Press)

Last week, Trump tweeted, “The 13 Angry Democrats in charge of the Russian Witch Hunt are starting to find out that there is a Court System in place that actually protects people from injustice…and just wait ‘till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!”

Those invited to testify at Wednesday's hearing include former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey, the Washington Times reported.

But Comey’s attorney said Friday that the former director will not be able to attend “because of a previously scheduled engagement.”

Trump fired Comey in May 2017 over his handling of the Russia probe. Comey has since released a memoir, “A Higher Loyalty” in which he is highly critical of Trump, likening him to a mob boss who values loyalty over duty to a higher cause.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018...collusion.html