Senate Panel Submits Final Russia Report as Burr Steps Down

(Bloomberg) -- The Senate Intelligence Committee sent its final report on Russian interference in the 2016 election for a declassification review Friday in one of the last acts of Chairman Richard Burr before he steps down amid a federal investigation of his stock trading.

The fifth and final report of the committee has been submitted to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, with the committee aiming for the review to be done as soon as possible so it can be released well in advance of the November elections.

Republican Burr and the committee’s vice chairman, Democrat Mark Warner, said they submitted a classified report as well as what they believe is a “properly redacted, unclassified version” totaling almost 1,000 pages.

“We want to thank the talented and tireless staff who have contributed to the committee’s investigation,” the two said. “The work they’ve done has already greatly added to our understanding of and response to foreign threats to our democratic process.”

The committee has previously released bipartisan reports on election security, Russia’s use of social media, the Obama administration’s response and the intelligence community’s assessment in January 2017 of Russia’s interference.

The committee bolstered the finding by the nation’s spy agencies that Russia interfered with the 2016 election in an effort to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and ultimately to help Donald Trump win and found that the agencies weren’t subjected to political pressure.

Burr and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced this week that Burr would temporarily step down as chairman of the panel during the investigations into his stock trading.

McConnell has yet to name Burr’s successor atop the panel.

Representative John Ratcliffe, who has been nominated to be the director of national intelligence, committed to speedily review the committee’s report at his confirmation hearing on May 5.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.