iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — It appears to be a tale of two Russian investigations.
There is the probe in the House Intelligence Committee that has been publicly marred by controversy over the actions of the chairman, Devin Nunes, R-Calif., once a member of the Trump transition team, and his wrangling with Democratic counterpart, Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Then there is the Senate, where, by contrast Wednesday, the leaders of that body’s Intelligence Committee presented a united front as they shared details of their ongoing inquiry into Russian interference, including possible collusion with a campaign, and vowed to “get to the bottom of this.”
The probes, which are running simultaneously with an FBI investigation into potential collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials, represent a critical juncture in the nascent administration.
The investigations have split lawmakers largely along party lines, with the GOP honing in on leaks of classified information and the “unmasking” of Americans within the intelligence community and Democrats emphasizing Russian meddling in the presidential election.
Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice-Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., appeared together at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday and defined the scope of their committee’s work.
“An outside foreign adversary effectively sought to hijack our most critical democratic process, the election of a president, and in that process, decided to favor one candidate over another,” said Warner. “We’re here to assure you, and more importantly, the American people who are watching and listening, that we will get to the bottom of this.”
“This is one of the biggest investigations that the Hill has seen in my tenure here,” said Burr.
Warner’s invocation of his and Burr’s long-standing working relationship during their appearance and shared “concern about what the Russians have done and continue to do around the world” stood in stark contrast to the current fracture at the top of the House Intelligence Committee where Nunes is being questioned about his impartiality, willingness to share information and methods in acquiring intelligence.
Since it was revealed Monday that Nunes traveled to the White House grounds last week in order to meet with a source who provided him with information that Americans were swept up in foreign surveillance efforts — details about which he later briefed the press and the president on before consulting his committee — a number of congressional leaders, and even one Republican, have called from his recusal from the investigation.
Nunes has refused to remove himself, a stance backed by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
On Tuesday, Nunes cancelled all of this week’s House Intelligence Committee meetings. The next day he said his committee has to hear from FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Mike Rogers behind closed doors before the investigation can proceed, but a committee spokesperson said Schiff wouldn’t sign the letter inviting Comey back to the Hill.
Schiff told CNN he expected to meet with Nunes Thursday. “We do need to get to the bottom of it. Otherwise there will be this permanent cloud hanging over our investigation,” he said.
The intelligence leaders on the Senate side gave no indication Wednesday that they are facing any of the same cooperative difficulties. Burr — himself an adviser on Trump’s campaign who said his Intelligence Committee work “overrides any personal beliefs that I have or loyalties” he has — ticked off a lengthy list of steps the committee is taking in its probe, including 20 interview requests that “may turn into private and public hearings.”
“The staff has been provided an unprecedented amount of documents,” said Burr. “Those documents include documents that, up to this point, have only been shared with the Gang of Eight [party and intelligence committee leaders] and staff directors on the house and senate side.”
Nunes has yet to share the information he viewed on the White House grounds with members of his committee, though he indicated that he would like to. He apologized last week for how he shared the news of surveillance of Americans of which Trump said made him feel “somewhat” vindicated.
Burr and Warner lauded the diligence of their committee and its bipartisan nature in their remarks and noted that the intelligence community “has been very cooperative.” Warner cautioned, however, against the spread of misleading details, not just in Washington but through the public via social media.
“The very technology that has made our lives simpler can be misused in ways to put false information for folks who potentially only get their news off a Twitter feed or a Facebook news feed,” said Warner. “And that raises serious questions, even beyond this investigation.”
The breadth of the inquiry led both senators to comment upon the amount of time it could take, with Warner saying that “getting it right is more important than getting it done quickly.” Burr added that while the investigation is at this stage, it is too soon for anyone to assume definitive outcomes. White House press secretary Sean Spicer has consistently insisted that there is “no connection” between the administration and Russia.
“It would be crazy to try to draw conclusions from where we are in the investigation,” said Burr, responding to whether the committee could “definitively rule out” whether there was “coordination between Trump officials and Russian officials during the election.”
Moving forward, the senators gave an optimistic estimation of the final outcome of their work, pledging to keep the public abreast of developments and further reinforcing their commitment.
“I have confidence in Richard Burr that we together, with the members of our committee are going to get to the bottom of this,” said Warner. “And if you get nothing else from today, take that statement to the bank.”
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