Senate Intelligence Committee leaders: Russia did interfere in 2016 elections
Richard Burr
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-S.C.)  said "we have not come to any final conclusions" about the Russia investigation on Oct. 4  but that they are still looking into the Mayflower meeting  former president Barack Obama's response to Russian hacking  the Intelligence Community Assessment and the drafting of the RNC's platform.  (Reuters)
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-S.C.)  said "we have not come to any final conclusions" about the Russia investigation on Oct. 4  but that they are still looking into the Mayflower meeting  former president Barack Obama's response to Russian hacking  the Intelligence Community Assessment and the drafting of the RNC's platform. (Reuters)
âThere is consensus among members and staff that we trust the conclusions of the ICA â Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.)  the committeeâs chairman  said at Wednesday news conference  referring to the intelligence communityâs assessment that Russia was behind hackings of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign director John Podestaâs email account and had attempted to exploit public opinion by sowing false information  much of it through fake social media accounts.
âBut we donât close our consideration of it â  he  added.
 Burr  also said that âthe issue of collusion is still openâ and would not be resolved until the committeeâs work was done.  He  said that a deadline for the committee was the looming start of the 2018 primary season.
âWeâve got to make our facts  as it related to Russiaâs involvement in our election  before the primaries getting started in 2018 â  Burr  said.
 Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-S.C.)  said that the committee's focus on FBI Director James Comey's firing has come to its "logical end as it relates to the Russia investigation " but that it is still looking into possible collusion on Oct. 4. (Reuters)
 Burr  and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.)  the committeeâs vice chairman  said the committee has interviewed more than 100 people and reviewed more than 100 000 documents  many of them from the intelligence community  President Trumpâs inner circle and former members of the Obama administration. In some areas of the investigation   Burr  added  investigators had âexhausted every individualâ they could speak with in several areas of the probe â such as an April 2016 meeting at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.
 Burr  said the committee had interviewed seven people about that meeting and that âthe testimony of all seven were consistent.â
 He  said the committee had also âinterviewed every personâ that was involved in drafting the Republican campaign platform  suggesting that investigators had found no evidence of nefarious activity by Trump campaign officials in fashioning that platform to support a âstrong ally in Ukraine  but also leave the door open for better relations with Russia.â
 Burr  also told reporters that the committee had âhit a wallâ in attempting to verify the details of a salacious dossier about Trumpâs alleged exploits in Russia  mostly because its author  former British spy Christopher Steele  had rebuffed the committeeâs efforts to speak with him about his sources and about who paid for the compilation of the report.
âI can compel you to come â  Burr  said  as a warning to any potential witnesses who might not want to comply with the committeeâs investigation. But  Burr  later said that  he  had no such leverage over Steele  a British citizen  and could only threaten that the committeeâs report âwonât be flatteringâ as it relates to  him  if  he  refuses to cooperate.
The committee has also scheduled an additional 25 interviews for this month   Burr  added. Google executives  who have also been invited to testify publicly before the committee on Nov. 1  are expected to be among those asked to attend the closed-door interviews that have been scheduled in October.
 Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.)   left  and Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.)  hold a news conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
 Burr  added that the committee would not release the content of those ads  though  he  added that the committee would be âfineâ with any of the social media companies choosing to release the content of documents and other information they had turned over to the committee themselves.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-S.C.)  said "we have not come to any final conclusions" about the Russia investigation on Oct. 4  but that they are still looking into the Mayflower meeting  former president Barack Obama's response to Russian hacking  the Intelligence Community Assessment and the drafting of the RNC's platform.  (Reuters)
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-S.C.)  said "we have not come to any final conclusions" about the Russia investigation on Oct. 4  but that they are still looking into the Mayflower meeting  former president Barack Obama's response to Russian hacking  the Intelligence Community Assessment and the drafting of the RNC's platform. (Reuters)
âThere is consensus among members and staff that we trust the conclusions of the ICA â  [TGT] said at Wednesday news conference  referring to the intelligence communityâs assessment that Russia was behind hackings of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign director John Podestaâs email account and had attempted to exploit public opinion by sowing false information  much of it through fake social media accounts.
âBut we donât close our consideration of it â  he  added.
  [TGT] also said that âthe issue of collusion is still openâ and would not be resolved until the committeeâs work was done.   [TGT]   said that a deadline for the committee was the looming start of the 2018 primary season.
âWeâve got to make our facts  as it related to Russiaâs involvement in our election  before the primaries getting started in 2018 â   [TGT] said.
 Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-S.C.)  said that the committee's focus on FBI Director James Comey's firing has come to its "logical end as it relates to the Russia investigation " but that it is still looking into possible collusion on Oct. 4. (Reuters)
  [TGT] and Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.)  the committeeâs vice chairman  said the committee has interviewed more than 100 people and reviewed more than 100 000 documents  many of them from the intelligence community  President Trumpâs inner circle and former members of the Obama administration. In some areas of the investigation    [TGT] added  investigators had âexhausted every individualâ they could speak with in several areas of the probe â such as an April 2016 meeting at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.
  [TGT] said the committee had interviewed seven people about that meeting and that âthe testimony of all seven were consistent.â
  [TGT]   said the committee had also âinterviewed every personâ that was involved in drafting the Republican campaign platform  suggesting that investigators had found no evidence of nefarious activity by Trump campaign officials in fashioning that platform to support a âstrong ally in Ukraine  but also leave the door open for better relations with Russia.â
 Burr  also told reporters that the committee had âhit a wallâ in attempting to verify the details of a salacious dossier about Trumpâs alleged exploits in Russia  mostly because its author  former British spy Christopher Steele  had rebuffed the committeeâs efforts to speak with him about his sources and about who paid for the compilation of the report.
âI can compel you to come â  Burr  said  as a warning to any potential witnesses who might not want to comply with the committeeâs investigation. But  Burr  later said that  he  had no such leverage over Steele  a British citizen  and could only threaten that the committeeâs report âwonât be flatteringâ as it relates to  him  if  he  refuses to cooperate.
The committee has also scheduled an additional 25 interviews for this month   Burr  added. Google executives  who have also been invited to testify publicly before the committee on Nov. 1  are expected to be among those asked to attend the closed-door interviews that have been scheduled in October.
 Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.)   left  and Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.)  hold a news conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
 Burr  added that the committee would not release the content of those ads  though  he  added that the committee would be âfineâ with any of the social media companies choosing to release the content of documents and other information they had turned over to the committee themselves.