U.S. Senate leaders pledge Russia probe liaison
WASHINGTON — The top Republican and Democrat on the U.S. Senate intelligence committee said Wednesday they would steer clear of politics in their panel’s probe of Russian interference in last year’s election. They made a point of putting themselves at arm’s length from the House of Representatives investigation marked by partisanship and disputes.
Richard Burr of North Carolina, the Republican chairman of the Senate committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill he would not even answer questions about the House probe.
“We’re not asking the House to play any role in our investigation. We don’t plan to play any role in their investigation,” Burr said ahead of his panel’s open hearing Thursday.
Standing alongside his committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Burr said: “Mark and I work hand in hand on this. … We’re partners to see that this is completed and that we have a product at the end of the day that we can, in bipartisanship, support.”
So far, the committee has requested 20 individuals to be interviewed. Five have been scheduled, and the remaining 15 are likely to be scheduled within the next 10 days. Additional witnesses could be interviewed.
Burr declined to identify any of them, except for Trump’s son-inlaw, Jared Kushner. The White House has said that Kushner, an adviser to Trump, has volunteered to answer questions about arranging meetings with the Russian ambassador and other officials.
On the House side, Democrats have called for intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican, to recuse himself because of his previous ties with Donald Trump’s team before Trump took office. The investigation includes looking at contacts the Russians might have had with Trump associates.
Nunes met with a secret source on the White House grounds last week to review classified material, which he says indicates that Trump associates’ communications were captured in “incidental” surveillance of foreigners.
Trump has used Nunes’ revelations to defend his claim that former president Barack Obama tapped phones at Trump Tower in New York, though Nunes and his committee’s top Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, said there is no such evidence.