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Senate Intelligence Committee investigation on Russian activity in 2016 presidential election

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On January 13, 2017, the leadership of the Senate Intelligence Committee announced in a joint statement that they were investigating Russian intelligence activities impacting the United States, particularly those active measures taken during the 2016 presidential election.[1] The committee said that it would consider the following issues and information in its investigation:

  • The intelligence behind the intelligence community report on Russian activity in the 2016 election;
  • Counterintelligence related to ties between Russia and individuals associated with political campaigns; and
  • Russian active measures, including hacking, to interfere with the 2016 election and other U.S. interests.[1]
Committee leadership discusses Russian active measures in elections on March 29, 2017.

"The Committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads. We will conduct this inquiry expeditiously, and we will get it right. When possible, the Committee will hold open hearings to help inform the public about the issues. That said, we will be conducting the bulk of the Committee’s business behind closed doors because we take seriously our obligation to protect sources and methods," Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the chair of the committee, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the ranking member, said in the joint statement.[1]


After the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into Russian activity encountered management conflicts, Burr and Warner held a press conference to discuss the future of their own investigation on March 29, 2017. Warner said, "I have confidence in Richard Burr that we together with the members of our committee are going to get to the bottom of this, and that's—if you get nothing else from today, take that statement to the bank."[2]

On May 8, 2018, Burr said that the committee planned to end its investigation in August 2018. Burr said, "This gives staff the month of August in all likelihood to wrap up our investigation and for staff to work intensely while we're out of here and not getting in their hair."[3]

On July 3, 2018, the committee released a report affirming the conclusions of the intelligence community assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The full text of the report is available here.[4]

Between 2019 and 2020, the committee released five bipartisan reports examining Russian active measures in the 2016 presidential election. The fifth and final volume, which found that Russia "engaged in an aggressive, multifaceted effort to influence" the election's outcome, was released on August 18, 2020.[5]

About the committee

Committee formation and authority

The Senate Intelligence Committee was formed in 1976 as a select committee overseeing the intelligence activities of the federal government and related legislation. The committee conducts hearings and investigations and writes legislation.[6] The committee has the power to grant congressional immunity if two-thirds of members support doing so, but it does not have the authority to prosecute a case based on the findings of an investigation.[7]

Committee members

Investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and the firing and hiring of the FBI director
Magnifying Glass Photo.jpg
For information more on the Russia probe and the firing and hiring of the FBI director, view the following articles:
•Senate investigation
•House investigation
•Trump firing of FBI Director James Comey
•Congressional responses to the firing of James Comey
•Considered candidates for FBI diretcor
•Hillary Clinton email investigation
•Reactions to Comey's letter on Clinton email investigation
•Federal policy on Russia
•Robert Mueller

As of May 15, 2018, the committee was comprised of eight Republicans, six Democrats, and one independent:

Timeline

March 30, 2017: First hearing

The Senate Intelligence Committee announced on March 16, 2017, that it would hold an open hearing on March 30, 2017, with two panels on Russia. "The first panel will examine the history and characteristics of those campaigns; the second panel will examine the role and capabilities of cyber operations in support of these activities," committee leadership announced in a press release.[8]

The following information was reported at the hearing:

  • Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said that former members of his presidential campaign had been targeted in Russian cyberattacks as recently as the week of the hearing. He added that similar attacks had been launched in July 2016, four months after he had withdrawn from the presidential election.[9]
  • Roy Godson, the emeritus professor of government at Georgetown University, and Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia program at the Carnegie Endowment, discussed the history and tactics of Russian interference in elections. Rumer said, "It is the totality of Russian efforts in plain sight—to mislead, to misinform, to exaggerate—that is more convincing than any cyber evidence. RT, Internet trolls, fake news and so on, are an integral part of Russian foreign policy today."[10] He added that he expected Russia to engage in upcoming French and German elections.[10]
  • Clint Watts, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said that an online Russian disinformation campaign in 2014 predated active measures taken the following year. "Through the summer and fall of 2014, we studied these pro-Russia accounts and automated bots. Hackers proliferated the networks and could be spotted amongst recent data breaches and website defacements. Closely circling them were honeypot accounts, attractive-looking women or passionate political partisans, which appeared to be befriending certain audience members through social engineering. Above all, we observed hecklers, synchronized trolling accounts that would attack political targets using similar talking points and follower patterns," Watts said.[11]

March 30, 2017: Flynn immunity request

Michael Flynn was the first national security advisor under the Donald Trump (R) administration. He resigned on February 13, 2017, amid reports that he did not provide Vice President Mike Pence (R) with accurate information about a conversation that he had with a Russian ambassador concerning sanctions against the country.[12]

On March 30, 2017, Flynn’s attorney, Robert Kelner, announced that he wanted to testify in exchange for immunity. "General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit. ... No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch hunt environment without assurance against unfair prosecution," Kelner said.[13]

NBC News reported on April 1, 2017, that the Senate Intelligence Committee had rejected Flynn’s request for congressional immunity.[14]

May 10, 2017: Flynn subpoenaed

On May 10, 2017, the Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Flynn for documents regarding his interactions with Russian officials. The documents were requested on April 28, 2017, but Flynn declined to provide the documents by the May 9, 2017, deadline. The committee also requested documents from other Trump associates, including former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page. Letters were also reportedly sent to Roger Stone and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.[15]

According to The Hill, "The letters ask for the men to list any meetings they might have had with Russian officials between June 16, 2015 — the day Trump formally launched his campaign — and Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, as well as records of any communications during the period. The senators also want details on any financial assets or real estate holding tied to Russia, and a broader list of meetings between any Trump campaign aides and Russians."[15]

June 8, 2017: Comey testifies

Former FBI Director James Comey was scheduled to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8, 2017, to discuss his conversations with Trump regarding the FBI's investigation of Flynn. White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on June 5, 2017, that Trump would not seek to assert executive privilege to prevent Comey from testifying.[16]

In his written testimony, released on June 7, 2017, Comey made the following statements regarding his interactions with Trump on the matter:[17]

  • Comey on documenting his interactions with Trump: "I felt compelled to document my first conversation with the President-Elect in a memo. To ensure accuracy, I began to type it on a laptop in an FBI vehicle outside Trump Tower the moment I walked out of the meeting. Creating written records immediately after one-on-one conversations with Mr. Trump was my practice from that point forward. This had not been my practice in the past. I spoke alone with President Obama twice in person (and never on the phone) – once in 2015 to discuss law enforcement policy issues and a second time, briefly, for him to say goodbye in late 2016. In neither of those circumstances did I memorialize the discussions. I can recall nine one-on-one conversations with President Trump in four months – three in person and six on the phone."
  • Comey on Trump asking him if he wanted to remain FBI director (January 7, 2017): "The President began by asking me whether I wanted to stay on as FBI Director, which I found strange because he had already told me twice in earlier conversations that he hoped I would stay, and I had assured him that I intended to. My instincts told me that the one-on-one setting, and the pretense that this was our first discussion about my position, meant the dinner was, at least in part, an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship. I replied that I loved my work and intended to stay and serve out my ten-year term as Director. And then, because the set-up made me uneasy, I added that I was not 'reliable' in the way politicians use that word, but he could always count on me to tell him the truth. I added that I was not on anybody’s side politically and could not be counted on in the traditional political sense, a stance I said was in his best interest as the President."
  • Comey on Trump asking him for his loyalty (January 7, 2017): "A few moments later, the President said, 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' I didn’t move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence. The conversation then moved on, but he returned to the subject near the end of our dinner. ... Near the end of our dinner, the President returned to the subject of my job, saying he was very glad I wanted to stay, adding that he had heard great things about me from Jim Mattis, Jeff Sessions, and many others. He then said, 'I need loyalty.' I replied, 'You will always get honesty from me.' He paused and then said, 'That’s what I want, honest loyalty.' I paused, and then said, 'You will get that from me.' As I wrote in the memo I created immediately after the dinner, it is possible we understood the phrase 'honest loyalty' differently, but I decided it wouldn’t be productive to push it further. The term – honest loyalty – had helped end a very awkward conversation and my explanations had made clear what he should expect."
  • Comey on Trump asking him to drop the investigation of Flynn (February 14, 2017): "The President then returned to the topic of Mike Flynn, saying, 'He is a good guy and has been through a lot.' He repeated that Flynn hadn’t done anything wrong on his calls with the Russians, but had misled the Vice President. He then said, 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.' I replied only that 'he is a good guy.' I did not say I would 'let this go.' I had understood the President to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn in connection with false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in December. I did not understand the President to be talking about the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign. I could be wrong, but I took him to be focusing on what had just happened with Flynn’s departure and the controversy around his account of his phone calls. Regardless, it was very concerning, given the FBI’s role as an independent investigative agency. The FBI leadership team agreed with me that it was important not to infect the investigative team with the President’s request, which we did not intend to abide. We also concluded that, given that it was a one-on-one conversation, there was nothing available to corroborate my account."
  • Comey on Trump discussing how the Russia investigation was preventing him from getting his programs implemented (March 30, 2017): "He described the Russia investigation as 'a cloud' that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. He said he had nothing to do with Russia, had not been involved with hookers in Russia, and had always assumed he was being recorded when in Russia. He asked what we could do to 'lift the cloud.' I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn’t find anything, to our having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problems this was causing him."
  • Comey on telling Trump that he was not under investigation (March 30, 2017): "Then the President asked why there had been a congressional hearing about Russia the previous week – at which I had, as the Department of Justice directed, confirmed the investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. I explained the demands from the leadership of both parties in Congress for more information, and that Senator Grassley had even held up the confirmation of the Deputy Attorney General until we briefed him in detail on the investigation. I explained that we had briefed the leadership of Congress on exactly which individuals we were investigating and that we had told those Congressional leaders that we were not personally investigating President Trump. I reminded him I had previously told him that. He repeatedly told me, 'We need to get that fact out.' (I did not tell the President that the FBI and the Department of Justice had been reluctant to make public statements that we did not have an open case on President Trump for a number of reasons, most importantly because it would create a duty to correct, should that change.) The President went on to say that if there were some 'satellite' associates of his who did something wrong, it would be good to find that out, but that he hadn’t done anything wrong and hoped I would find a way to get it out that we weren’t investigating him."
  • Comey on his final conversation with Trump (April 11, 2017): In his written testimony, Comey said that Trump called to ask him what he had done to explain to the public that Trump was not under investigation by the FBI. Comey said that he had spoken to the acting deputy attorney general about the matter, but he had not heard back from him. Comey wrote that Trump said, "'[T]he cloud' was getting in the way of his ability to do his job." Comey added that Trump said, "'Because I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know.' I did not reply or ask him what he meant by 'that thing.' I said only that the way to handle it was to have the White House Counsel call the Acting Deputy Attorney General. He said that was what he would do and the call ended."

June 13, 2017: Sessions testifies

Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified in an open session before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 13, 2017. The committee asked about Sessions' interactions with Russian officials, his recusal from the investigation into Russian interference in the election, and his involvement in the firing of Comey. Sessions made the following statements:[18]

  • On communications with Russian officials regarding the election: "Let me state this clearly, colleagues. I have never met with or had any conversation with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election in the United States. Further, I have no knowledge of any such conversations by anyone connected to the Trump campaign."
  • On declining to discuss his conversations with President Trump: "It's a long standing policy. The Department of Justice not to comment on conversations that the attorney general had with the president of the United States for confidential reasons that rounded in the coequal branch. I'm not claiming executive privilege because that's the president's power and I have no power there."
  • On Comey's February 14, 2017, conversation with Trump: "He expressed concern about that private conversation. I agreed with him essentially that there are rules on private conversations with the president. It is not a prohibition on a private discussion with the president as I believe he acknowledged six or more himself with President Obama and President Trump. I didn't feel like—he gave me no detail about what it was that he was concerned about. I didn't say I wouldn't be able to respond if he called me. He certainly knew with regard that he could call his direct supervisor which in the Department of Justice, a supervisor to the FBI, the deputy attorney general could have complained any time if he felt pressured, but I had no doubt he would not yield to any pressure."
  • On why he recused himself from the Russian investigation: "Unless authorized, no employee shall participate in a criminal investigation or prosecution if he had a personal or political relationship with any person involved in the conduct of an investigation that goes on to say for political campaign and it says if you have a close identification with an elected official or candidate arising from service as a principal adviser, you should not participate in an investigation of that campaign. Many have suggested that my recusal is because I felt I was a subject of the investigation myself, I may have done something wrong. This is the reason I recused myself: I felt I was required to under the rules of the Department of Justice and as a leader of the Department of Justice, I should comply with the rules obviously."

June 21, 2017: Department of Homeland Security official testifies

Sam Liles, the acting director of the Cyber Division of the Department of Homeland Security, testified on June 21, 2017, that election infrastructure in 21 states was targeted in Russian cyber attacks during the 2016 presidential election. He said these attacks were mostly probes of the systems and a small number were penetrated. No process related to tallying votes was compromised, Liles added.[19]

July 24-26, 2017: Trump Jr., Manafort, and Kushner scheduled to testify

Senior Trump administration advisor Jared Kushner testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed session on July 24, 2017. Donald Trump Jr. and Manafort were also scheduled to testify at a public hearing on July 26, 2017, but agreed instead to be interviewed and provide documents to the committee.[20][21]

May 16, 2018: Senate Intelligence Committee says Russia interfered in 2016 election

On May 16, 2018, the Senate Intelligence Committee said that its investigation revealed that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and specifically tried to help Trump win the election. Its assessment supported the intelligence community’s but broke from the House investigation, which did not conclude that Russia tried to help Trump win the election.[22]

Burr said in a statement, “We see no reason to dispute the conclusions. There is no doubt that Russia undertook an unprecedented effort to interfere with our 2016 elections.”[22]

Warner said, “After a thorough review, our staff concluded that the [intelligence community assessment] conclusions were accurate and on point. The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton.”[22]

July 3, 2018: Senate Intelligence Committee releases report affirming intelligence community assessment of Russian interference

On July 3, 2018, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report affirming the intelligence community assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The committee found "that the Intelligence Community met President Obama's tasking and that the [Intelligence Community Assessment] is a sound intelligence product."[4] The committee also noted that "as the inquiry has progressed since January 2017, the Committee has seen additional examples of Russia's attempts to sow discord, undermine democratic institutions, and interfere in U.S. elections and those of our allies."[4] The committee indicated that it was preparing a comprehensive report that would be released to the public pending classification review.[4]

August 18, 2020: Fifth and final volume of committee's bipartisan report released

Between July 25, 2019, and August 18, 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee released five volumes examining Russia’s attempts to interfere with U.S. politics during the 2016 elections. According to a press release, the investigation involved more than 200 witness interviews and more than a million pages of reviewed documents over a period of three years. The complete report was over 1,300 pages in length.[23]

The committee said it "found that the Russian government engaged in an aggressive, multifaceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election."[5]

The report also said, "The Committee found that [Paul] Manafort's presence on the [Trump] Campaign and proximity to Trump created opportunities for Russian intelligence services to exert influence over, and acquire confidential information on, the Trump Campaign. Taken as a whole, Manafort's high-level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services...represented a grave counterintelligence threat."[5]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Senate Intelligence Committee, "Joint Statement on Committee Inquiry into Russian Intelligence Activities," January 13, 2017
  2. ↑ NPR, "Senate Intel Committee Previews Probe Into Russia's Election Meddling," March 29, 2017
  3. ↑ The Hill, "Senate Intelligence panel to wrap up Russia probe in August," May 8, 2018
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, "Report," July 3, 2018 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "july2018report" defined multiple times with different content
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Senate Intelligence Committee, "Volume 5: Counterintelligence Threats and Vulnerabilities," accessed August 20, 2020
  6. ↑ Senate Intelligence Committee, "About the Committee," accessed April 4, 2017
  7. ↑ CBS News, "What is congressional immunity?" April 1, 2017
  8. ↑ Senate Intelligence Committee, "Advisory: Senate Intel Committee Announces Open Hearing on Russian Intelligence Activities," March 16, 2017
  9. ↑ The New York Times, "Marco Rubio Says His Campaign Was a Target of Russian Cyberattacks," March 30, 2017
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Washington Post, "Here’s what we learned from the Senate hearing on Russia," March 30, 2017
  11. ↑ The Washington Post, "Why the Senate’s Russia hearing matters," March 30, 2017
  12. ↑ The Hill, "National security adviser Michael Flynn resigns," February 13, 2017
  13. ↑ Twitter, "Sabrina Siddiqui," March 30, 2017
  14. ↑ NBC News, "Michael Flynn’s Immunity Request Rejected By Senate Intelligence Committee," April 1, 2017
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Hill, "Senate Intel panel subpoenas Flynn for docs in Russia probe," May 10, 2017
  16. ↑ Reuters, "Trump will not block ex-FBI chief Comey's testimony: White House," June 5, 2017
  17. ↑ Senate Intelligence Committee, "Statement for the Record, James Comey," June 8, 2017
  18. ↑ Politico, "Transcript: Jeff Sessions' testimony on Trump and Russia," June 13, 2017
  19. ↑ CBS News, "DHS official: Election systems in 21 states were targeted in Russia cyber attacks," June 21, 2017
  20. ↑ Politico, "Trump Jr., Kushner, Manafort scheduled to testify in high-stakes hearings next week," July 19, 2017
  21. ↑ CBS News, "Senate hearing proceeds without anticipated testimony from Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr.," July 26, 2017
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 The Hill, "Senate panel breaks with House, says Russia sought to help Trump win in 2016," May 16, 2018
  23. ↑ Senate Intelligence Committee, "Senate Intel Releases Volume 5 of Bipartisan Russia Report," August 18, 2020
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