For Senate panel, bipartisanship vital to Russia inquiry
Credibility could depend on unified fact-finding
WASHINGTON – Congress’ last chance to tell Americans — in a bipartisan way — about Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election rests with 15 senators who meet twice a week behind closed doors.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has become a rare symbol of unity on the divisive issue of Russia’s role in the presidential race — quite a feat for a panel with members ranging from conservative Trump ally Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to liberal Trump critic Kamala Harris, D-Calif.
While bitter partisan fighting ripped apart the House Intelligence Committee and ended its Russia investigation in March with no agreement between Republicans and Democrats, the Senate panel managed to stay united.
Senators said they hope their final report on the Russia investigation — likely to come out by early fall — will present Americans with a bipartisan set of agreed-upon facts about how and why the Russians meddled in the election and whether Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
“There is a general understanding on our committee that this is a very big, very important national security issue and that it will be helpful to the country if we can be united and try to bring down the drama and the noise,” said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.
Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, credited Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., with unifying the committee by keeping a promise they made to one another 14 months ago.
“From the very beginning, Sen. Burr and Sen. Warner promised they would not surprise each other — that they would discuss everything together,” she said. “That doesn’t mean they don’t have vigorous disagreements, but they are able to work them out.”
That cohesion was underscored this month, when Burr and Warner announced that they agreed with U.S. intelligence agencies’ assessment that the Russian government tried to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton. The conclusion stands in stark contrast to the House Intelligence Committee, where the Republican majority said there was not enough evidence to show the Russians tried to boost Trump.
“From the outset, Richard Burr and I decided we were going to follow the facts and go wherever the facts take us,” Warner said. “We want this investigation to stand the test of time.”
The trust forged by Burr and Warner spread among the other senators, who spent long hours together in closed session, Collins said.
“It will be helpful to the country if we can be united and try to bring down the drama and the noise.” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.
“There’s no grandstanding in closed session, so we can really talk things out,” she said. “We’ve developed a bond.”
Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who usually votes with Democrats, said Burr protected the committee from pressure by the White House to steer the investigation in President Trump’s favor.
“He was not an anti-Trumper, but he has made it clear that he was going to follow the facts where they lead,” King said. “I give Richard a huge amount of credit for not being partisan.”
Warner said he and Burr had to resist pressure from senators in their own parties to draw premature conclusions about whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
“There’s pressure on Sen. Burr to wrap things up and say there’s nothing there, and some of my folks want us to say there’s absolute guilt,” Warner said.