Senate Intelligence Chairman: We'll Force Trump Administration to Testify on Russian Interference

By Joe Uchill, The Hill

17 December 16

enate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) announced plans Friday for his committee to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

“The Committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads,” he wrote in a statement. “We will conduct this review expeditiously, but we will take the time to get it right and will not be influenced by uninformed discourse.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tasked the Intelligence Committee with investigations into reports that Russian officials, with the consent of Vladimir Putin, hacked Democratic groups to sway the election. Many had suggested McConnell assign a special investigatory committee for that purpose.

In a bullet-pointed plan of action, Burr said the committee would “[r]eview the all-source intelligence that informed its assessments, including but not limited to the October 7 statement,” “[r]eview the cyber activity directed against our nation by the Russian Government, both as it regards the 2016 Election and more broadly,” “[h]old hearings examining other specific aspects of Russian behavior” and “[i]nterview senior officials of both the outgoing and incoming administrations including the issuance of subpoenas if necessary to compel testimony.”

Burr emphasized his plan for an even-handed investigation.

“Majority Leader McConnell and incoming Minority Leader Schumer have made it clear they expect any review of Russia’s involvement in our nation’s elections to be conducted in a bipartisan manner,” he said, referring to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

In the same statement, Burr defended the intelligence community against a growing chorus of Trump supporters accusing them of politicizing a narrative of Moscow’s intervention in the presidential elections.

"Without exception, I know them to be hard-working, patriotic Americans,” wrote Burr, later adding, “Unlike many in Washington, though, they check politics at the office door and focus on their mission.”