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A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 28 april 2018

GOP-led House panel clears Trump campaign in Russia probe

By TOM LoBIANCO and are true, he should have the probe did provide im-
CHAD DAY never served as a senior of- portant public revelations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The ficial with a campaign for Former FBI Director James
Republican-led House in- the U.S. presidency, much Comey chose the March
telligence committee on less campaign chairman or 20, 2017, hearing of the
Friday released a lengthy manager,” the report said. House intelligence com-
report concluding it found Manafort has denied any mittee to publicly reveal
no evidence that Donald wrongdoing. that the FBI had been in-
Trump’s campaign collud- The report largely confirms vestigating the Trump cam-
ed with Russia in the 2016 the findings of U.S. intelli- paign since July 2016. One
presidential campaign, gence agencies that Rus- day later, the committee’s
drawing praise from the sia was assessed to be re- chairman, Devin Nunes,
president and rebuttals sponsible for cyberattacks took a clandestine trip to
from Democrats. on U.S. political institutions, the White House grounds
The report caps an investi- including the hack of the to review classified infor-
gation that began with the Democratic National Com- mation that quickly drew
promise of bipartisanship mittee’s emails. The panel scrutiny after he publicly
but quickly transformed found “no credible evi- disclosed that Trump as-
into an acrimonious battle In this Feb. 6, 2018, file photo, House Intelligence Committee dence” that the computer sociates’ communications
between Democrats and Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., walks with Rep. Peter King, R- systems were compromised had been swept up by U.S.
Republicans over Russia’s N.Y., also a member of the Intelligence Committee, at the Capi- by another cyber actor or spy agencies and accused
meddling in the 2016 elec- tol in Washington. by “an insider threat.” Obama administration offi-
tion and whether there Associated Press The panel also found that cials of misconduct.
were any connections with gence committee wrote. telligence officials to clear Russians leveraged social The episode drew ques-
the Trump campaign. The report’s conclusion on the committee to release media in the U.S. to sow dis- tions about whether Nunes
Trump quickly claimed vin- collusion is fiercely opposed more information from the cord during the campaign. was coordinating with the
dication Friday, calling the by committee Democrats, report that was deemed The report challenges one White House and ultimate-
report “totally conclusive, who accused their Repub- classified. The 253-page part of a January 2017 in- ly led to his recusing from
strong, powerful, many lican colleagues of playing document is packed with telligence assessment that the probe amid an ethics
things.” “defense counsel” for the details and assessments, found that Russian med- investigation into whether
“No collusion, which I knew White House throughout but is also spackled with dling was an effort to help he mishandled classified
anyway. No coordination, the investigation. redacted names and Trump. The report says information. In his absence,
no nothing. It’s a witch “Committee Republicans blacked-out passages. For committee staff found “in- Conaway took over the
hunt, that’s all it is,” he told chose not to seriously inves- instance, several pages are telligence failings” that un- probe. Nunes was eventu-
reporters in the Oval Office. tigate — or even see, when redacted in the section on dermine that assessment ally cleared of wrongdoing,
But the committee’s Repub- in plain sight — evidence Russian cyberattacks. One by the FBI, CIA and NSA, but never formally rejoined
licans didn’t let the Trump of collusion between the page is blacked out entire- though specifics are not the House investigation. In-
campaign completely off Trump campaign and Rus- ly except for a line reading, detailed and some por- stead he launched a pair
the hook. They specifically sia,” Rep. Adam Schiff of “Attribution is a Bear.” tions of that section are of investigations on his own,
cited the Trump campaign California, the top Demo- The report faults intelli- redacted. Last month, in taking aim at the Justice
for “poor judgment” in tak- crat on the committee, said gence officials during the response to the committee Department and FBI.
ing a June 2016 meeting in in a statement. Schiff cited Obama administration announcing that finding, At the start of 2018, Nunes
Trump Tower that was de- several “secret meetings for not telling the Trump the Office of the Director of and the committee’s Re-
scribed in emails to Trump’s and communication” be- campaign that some of its National Intelligence said publican staff crafted a
eldest son, Donald Trump tween people linked to Rus- members were “potential it stood by the intelligence memo revealing details
Jr., as part of a Russian gov- sia and Trump campaign counterintelligence con- community’s findings and it of the FBI’s surveillance of
ernment effort to aide his officials, including Trump Jr. cerns.” It specifically cites will review the committee’s former Trump campaign
father’s presidential bid. and former National Secu- Flynn, former Trump cam- report. The House investi- aide Carter Page. Trump
The report also dubbed rity Adviser Michael Flynn. paign foreign policy advis- gation is the first of several ultimately chose to declas-
the campaign’s praise of Schiff called on the com- ers George Papadopou- inquiries probing Russian sify the sensitive contents
WikiLeaks “objectionable.” mittee to publicly release los and Carter Page, and election interference to of the memo — including
“While the committee the transcripts from dozens former Trump campaign conclude. A separate in- details from the Foreign In-
found no evidence that the of interviews with key wit- chairman Paul Manafort. vestigation led by special telligence Surveillance Act
Trump campaign colluded, nesses, saying the public The panel also singles out counsel Robert Mueller application for Page.
coordinated, or conspired should be able to judge Manafort for criticism, say- continues, as do probes led The panel wrote that intel-
with the Russian govern- the evidence gathered by ing the numerous criminal by the Senate intelligence ligence officials should im-
ment, the investigation did the committee. Democrats charges he faces unrelat- and judiciary committees. mediately alert presidential
find poor judgment and ill- also released a 98-page re- ed to Russia illustrated the The House investigation be- candidates and Congress
considered actions by the buttal . need for better vetting by gan with bipartisan promise when they discover “legiti-
Trump and Clinton cam- Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Tex- the campaign. “If the ac- but ultimately succumbed mate” threats to a cam-
paigns,” the House intelli- as, meanwhile called on in- cusations against Manafort to factional squabbling. But paign. q