2018 offers no resolution in sight on Russia inquiries

Each witness tacks on more time, questions

WASHINGTON – Congressional investigators head into 2018 having no end in sight to their investigations into Russia’s suspected meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Every time the Senate Intelligence Committee interviews a witness, said its chairman, Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., it learns the names of more people to question. The committee has interviewed more than 100 people since its investigation began in January.

“Every individual that is added, it puts about three more weeks into an investigation, so that’s why it makes it difficult for me to look out,” Burr said at the Council on Foreign Relations this month.

Revelations in news stories also contributed to the long witness list, he said.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told USA TODAY he believes the House panel has “many months of work ahead of us.” He said he’s worried that Republicans on the committee may try to rush the investigation to a “premature” close because of pressure from the White House.

“There are still dozens of witnesses that need to be brought in,” Schiff said. “There are a lot of interactions between the Trump campaign and Russia that still need to be fleshed out.”

Schiff said the committee may seek access to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and campaign aide Rick Gates after their trials, which aren’t likely to happen until May at the earliest. Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty Oct. 30 to charges of money laundering and conspiracy after being indicted by a federal grand jury as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation.

Mueller’s inquiry has produced guilty pleas and pledges of cooperation from former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, both of whom admitted lying to the FBI.

White House special counsel Ty Cobb expressed optimism that Mueller’s investigation is winding down. He indicated this month that all interviews that investigators requested of White House staffers have been completed.

“That may be the view from Mr. Cobb’s eyes, but I would be shocked if (Mueller) was done with the White House inner circle,” said Ron Hosko, a former assistant FBI director who worked for Mueller when Mueller was FBI director. “All of these indictments, guilty pleas and interviews could be just Round One.”

It is more likely, Hosko said, that staffers and others in Trump’s orbit would be called back for additional interviews, especially if the information provided in initial discussions did not support the evidence gathered.

Mueller’s inquiry on behalf of the Department of Justice is separate from the investigations by three different congressional committees. In addition to the two intelligence committees, the Senate Judiciary Committee has been running a more limited inquiry.

Mueller’s investigation probably will go beyond 2018, said Charles Tiefer, professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and the special deputy chief counsel for the House Iran-Contra Committee’s investigation of the Reagan administration.

“In contrast, I think the House Intelligence Committee may well shut itself down early in 2018,” Tiefer said.

He said Republican leaders of the committee, which has been plagued by partisanship during its investigation, appear to want to end the inquiry as soon as possible.

Republicans on the committee have complained that Democrats want to drag out the investigation to help their party try to win control of the House next year. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who has been running the Russia inquiry for the House panel, declined to be interviewed for this story.

The Senate Intelligence Committee may agree to finish in late summer, so its report would come out well before the congressional elections in November 2018, Tiefer said.

“They want at least part of the report to have bipartisan support,” the professor said. “That becomes harder to achieve when you get closer to an election.”

Burr said it’s possible the Senate committee may come out with two reports: one during the first few months of 2018 to provide states with recommendations on ways to protect their election systems from Russian hacking, and a second later in the year that provides overall findings.

“When we have interviewed everybody that needs to be interviewed, and we feel like we have answered every question that the committee jurisdictionally should, we will finish,” he said.