House GOP report finds no collusion

WASHINGTON – The House Intelligence Committee released a final report on its Russia investigation Friday that criticized the Trump campaign for “poor judgment and ill-conceived actions” in dealing with the Russians.

But the 243-page report released by the Republican majority Friday concluded there is no evidence the campaign colluded with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election.

The report cited as “poor judgment” the June 2016 meeting at the Trump Tower in New York between members of the Trump campaign and a Russian attorney “who falsely purported to have damaging information on the Clinton campaign.”

“The Committee also found the Trump campaign’s periodic praise for and communications with Wikileaks — a hostile foreign organization — to be highly objectionable and inconsistent with U.S. national security interests,” the report said.

Wikileaks published emails stolen by Russian hackers from the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee before the election.

Still, the GOP committee members found that “none of the interviewed witnesses provided evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.” The report also found “no evidence that President Trump’s pre-campaign business dealings formed the basis for collusion during the campaign.”

The Republican majority also criticized Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee for trying to obscure their role in paying for opposition research on Trump.

President Donald Trump hailed the report, tweeting that the “witch hunt” of the Russia investigation “must end now!”

Probes are continuing in the Senate, and most importantly, special counsel Robert Mueller is continuing his Russia investigation on behalf of the Department of Justice.