The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday released its long-awaited Russia interference report detailing significant contacts between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the 2016 …
The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday released its long-awaited Russia interference report detailing significant contacts between the Trump campaign and Moscow during the 2016 election. The fifth and final volume, just shy of 1,000 pages, lays out the counterintelligence threats and vulnerabilities that were exposed through Russian contacts and a willingness by some members of the Trump campaign to accept foreign assistance. Its release comes more than a year after former special counsel Robert Mueller wrapped up his 22-month investigation in which he did not find evidence to charge any Trump campaign associates with conspiring or coordinating with the Kremlin to interfere in the election — a finding President Trump has hailed while lambasting the probe as a “witch hunt.” Here are five takeaways from the Senate report. Trump campaign, Russia had extensive contacts A comprehensive list of contacts between members of the campaign and Russia were uncovered during the committee’s bipartisan investigation, which launched shortly after Trump took office in January 2017. Communications between several Russian figures and the campaign surfaced in other investigations by the House and Mueller, but the Senate probe uncovered additional information, including several cases where Russians had far greater ties to the Kremlin. One such figure was Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyer who Donald Trump Jr., former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met at Trump Tower in June 2016 after being promised dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Instead, Veselnitskaya steered the discussion toward Russian sanctions. “The connections the Committee uncovered, particularly regarding Veselnitskaya, were far more extensive and concerning than what had been publicly known,” the panel wrote, noting she was not forthcoming with her ties to Moscow. The committee also delved into the complex web of connections between Russian officials and the Trump campaign, which frequently consisted of campaign associates with Russian ties who knew someone in Trump’s orbit. For example, American businessman Bob Foresman „conveyed brief messages“ between the campaign and Kremlin-linked individuals, including a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Senate panel also highlighted how Russia and other countries looked for opportunities to embed themselves with Trump officials. In particular, the committee noted that Russia viewed the Trump Transition Team as inexperienced, disorganized and unprepared, and sought to exploit those shortcomings. “Russia and other countries took advantage of the Transition Team’s inexperience, transparent opposition to Obama Administration policies, and Trump’s desire to deepen ties with Russia, to pursue unofficial channels through which Russia could conduct diplomacy,” the report reads, noting that this made the “transition open to influence and manipulation.” Trump dodged questions about the report’s findings during a trip to Yuma, Ariz., saying he didn’t read it, while repeating that the Russia investigation was a “hoax.” He didn’t answer when asked whether he agreed with the report’s conclusion that Putin directed the 2016 Democratic National Committee (DNC) hack, or whether he accepted the finding that his campaign officials were deemed a security risk. “They said Donald Trump knew nothing about anything and that came out loud and clear,” the president said.
