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                  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
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