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Summary: House Representatives released a redacted report about the Russia investigation on Friday.
On Friday, the House Intelligence Committee released a redacted report on the group’s probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election. According to CNN, the Republican report found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia to help him win the 2016 presidential election. The report was met with praise by Trump and derision from Democrats.
The Republican probe was led by Representative Mike Conaway, and he said that he wanted more of the report to be released. Friday’s report was redacted at the request of the intelligence community, which has been publicly condemned by Trump on multiple occasions. Trump is currently being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller on this matter, and Mueller took over the job from former FBI director James Comey, who Trump had fired.
Conaway said that some of the redactions were unnecessary.
“Many of the redactions include information that is publicly available, such as witness names and information previously declassified,” Conaway said to CNN.
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The House Intelligence Committee ended their probe last month after they determined Russia had not helped Trump win the election.
“We found no evidence of collusion, and so we found perhaps some bad judgment, inappropriate meetings,” Conaway said.
Although the Republicans cleared Trump of working with Russia, they said that he and his campaign had exercised poor judgment in instances such as meeting with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower before the election, according to the AP.
“While the committee found no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government, the investigation did find poor judgment and ill-considered actions by the Trump and Clinton campaigns,” the House Intelligence Committee wrote in their report.
While the Republicans have already made their conclusion in the matter, special counsel Mueller is still conducting his probe. So far, he has indicted five members of Trump’s inner circle, four of which have pled guilty. This month, Mueller also ordered the FBI raid the office of Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, in order to find evidence of possible campaign finance violations.
Regarding the redacted report, Democrats said that Republicans did not do a thorough-enough job. They said that Republicans “failed to interview key witnesses and issue subpoenas to obtain necessary information, and were not interested in uncovering collusion,” according to CNN. Because of this, Democrats have conducted their own investigation without the help from the GOP.
“Throughout the investigation, Committee Republicans chose not to seriously investigate — or even see, when in plain sight — evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, instead adopting the role of defense counsel for key investigation witnesses,” California Rep. Adam Schiff said.
On Friday, Trump tweeted that this report exonerates him, and he called for an end to Mueller’s investigation.
“Just Out: House Intelligence Committee Report released. ‘No evidence’ that the Trump Campaign ‘colluded, coordinated or conspired with Russia.’ Clinton Campaign paid for Opposition Research obtained from Russia- Wow! A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!” Trump tweeted.
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