The House Intelligence Committee is shutting down its contentious investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, the top Republican leading the probe have announced.
The committee will interview no more witnesses and Republicans are in the process of preparing their final report, Rep. Mike Conaway
Kenneth (Mike) Michael ConawayOvernight Cybersecurity: US, UK blame Russia for 'notPetya' attack | Bannon refuses to answer questions not pre-approved by White House | 'Hack the Air Force' yields 100 vulnerabilities Bannon interviewed by Mueller in past week: report Bannon refuses to answer questions not pre-approved by the White House MORE[2][3][4][5][6][1] (R-Texas) told reporters. A draft of that roughly 150-page report will be delivered to committee Democrats for review on Tuesday.
It will also contradict an official U.S. intelligence community assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin showed a “preference” for Donald Trump
Donald John TrumpAccuser says Trump should be afraid of the truth Woman behind pro-Trump Facebook page denies being influenced by Russians Shulkin says he has White House approval to root out 'subversion' at VA MORE[8][9][10][11][12][7] during the race — another assertion that Trump has disputed.
“We found no evidence of collusion,” Conaway said Monday. “We found perhaps some bad judgment, inappropriate meetings, inappropriate judgment in taking meetings — but only Tom Clancy could take this series of inadvertent contacts, meetings, whatever, and weave that into some sort of a spy thriller that could go out there.”
Further, he said, “we couldn’t establish the same conclusion that the CIA did that [the Russians] specifically wanted to help Trump.”
The announcement is unlikely to herald any bipartisan conclusion to the central questions in an investigation that for more than a year has been mired in investigatory offshoots, leaks and bitter fighting between committee members.
The top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett SchiffGOP strategist confronts ex-Trump staffer: ‘I’m sick of you guys making excuses for him’ Shepard Smith goes after Trump for not condemning Russia in tweets Trump: Why didn't Obama 'do something about Russian meddling?' MORE[14][15][16][17][18][13] (Calif.), in a blistering statement called the end of the probe a "tragic milestone" and a "capitulation to the executive branch."
"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," Schiff wrote.
Schiff in his statement emphatically rejected the GOP's assertion that the Russians did not seek to help Trump's campaign, saying the evidence "is clear and overwhelming that...