Senate Panel to Probe If Trump Team Had Contact With Russia

(Bloomberg) -- The Senate Intelligence Committee will conduct a bipartisan investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 election, including any links with associates of Donald Trump’s campaign.

“As part of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s oversight responsibilities we believe that it is critical to have a full understanding of the scope of Russian intelligence activities impacting the United States,” said Chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, and Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, in a joint statement late Friday.

The committee’s investigation comes a day after the Senate received a closed-door briefing from top intelligence officials on allegations of hacking and other activities by Russia. It has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

“This issue impacts the foundations of our democratic system, it’s that important,” Warner said. “This requires a full, deep and bipartisan examination.”

Broad Inquiry

Democrats had demanded a broad inquiry into allegations the Russian government led cyber attacks targeting Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Friday’s announcement was a concession by Republican leaders because they included Trump’s campaign team -- and the possibility they had contacts with Russia -- within the scope of the probe. They also said they would enforce interview requests by subpoena if necessary.

The decision is a reversal for Burr, who told reporters Thursday that any investigation into contact between Trump’s campaign and the Russia would be up to the FBI and “not in our jurisdiction.”

“Until there’s proof out there that there was contact, it’s speculative,” Burr said at the time.

The investigation will be an early test of Trump’s relationship with Congress and could tie up some of his top aides with subpoenas and testimony to congressional investigators.

Other Panels

Warner left open the possibility that additional probes could be conducted by other committees. A number of senators in both parties, led by Armed Services Chairman John McCain of Arizona, have pressed for a select committee to look at Russian hacking, but McConnell has blocked the idea.

McCain has also said the Armed Services panel will probe Russian hacking, both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Trump has repeatedly rejected suggestions that hacking by Russia or other actors helped him win and has said that people should move on from this topic.

Separately, the president-elect for a fifth day dismissed the 35-page compilation of uncorroborated memos published by the website BuzzFeed on Jan. 10, which alleged the Russian government had collected potentially damaging personal and financial information about Trump.

“Intelligence insiders now claim the Trump dossier is ‘a complete fraud!’ @OANN,” Trump said on Twitter early Saturday, citing the little-known conservative One America News Network cable channel and using capital letters for emphasis.

The committee said in its statement that the investigation will include interviews with senior officials from the Obama administration and the incoming Trump administration.

The senators indicated some of the hearings would be public, while others would remain behind closed doors to protect intelligence. The panel is planning to produce a public report.

--With assistance from Laura Litvan To contact the reporter on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Charles W. Stevens