Congressman Conaway’s Committee Moves to Clear Trump of Collusion with Russians

WASHINGTON, DC — On Monday, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) announced an update on the status of the Russia Investigation.

According to CNN, the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee reached a conclusion that differs from the U.S. intelligence community. The House Republicans concluded that Russia did interfere with the 2016 elections, but not necessarily to benefit Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

Democrats disagree. They believe the House Republican-led committee conclusion is politically motivated to clear President Trump of collusion with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.

"We found no evidence of collusion, and so we found perhaps some bad judgment, inappropriate meetings," Conaway told CNN. "We found no evidence of any collusion of anything people were actually doing other than taking a meeting they shouldn't have taken or just inadvertently being in the same building."

Rep Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on Conaway’s committee, had a different view.

"While the majority members of our committee have indicated for some time that they have been under great pressure to end the investigation, it is nonetheless another tragic milestone for this Congress, and represents yet another capitulation to the executive branch," Schiff said in a statement. "By ending its oversight role in the only authorized investigation in the House, the Majority has placed the interests of protecting the President over protecting the country, and history will judge its actions harshly."

Congressman Mike Conaway (TX-11), who has led the probe since last April, released the following statement:

“Near the start of the HPSCI investigation into Russian active measures during the 2016 election, the Committee majority and minority agreed to four parameters for this investigation, covering Russian active measures directed against the 2016 election and against our European allies, the U.S. Government’s response to those attacks, links between Russians and the Trump and Clinton campaigns, and leaks of classified information. After conducting 73 witness interviews, holding nine hearings and briefings, and reviewing over 300,000 documents, we are confident that we have thoroughly investigated the agreed-upon parameters, and developed reliable initial findings and recommendations.

“We will now be moving into the next phase of this investigation, working with the minority on a report to give the American people answers to the questions they’ve been asking for over a year. With the 2018 primary elections already underway and just 238 days until the mid-term elections in November, it’s important that we give the American people the information they need to arm themselves against Russian attempts to influence our elections.

“I look forward to working with Ranking Member Schiff on this next phase of our investigation. The American people deserve our cooperation, and our transparency.”

A one-page overview of the status of the investigation can be found here.  The bipartisan parameters of the investigation can be found here. The metrics of the investigation can be found here. More information about the need for urgent action on election security can be found here.