Senate Intelligence Committee Leaders Vow Thorough Russian Investigation
While the vast majority of Republicans in the House have stood by Mr. Nunes amid calls for him to recuse himself, his furtive maneuvering — including
bypassing his committee to brief the White House about relevant intelligence — has placed House committee members in an uncomfortable spot.
Their composed and seemingly unified display served as a contrast to the explosive
and often bewildering statements from the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Devin Nunes of California, whose ties to the Trump White House have raised doubts about his ability to conduct an impartial investigation.
Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, the Senate committee’s Republican chairman and a supporter of Mr. Trump during the campaign, on Wednesday suggested he would not shy away from a process
that could damage the reputation of a Republican president.
Last month, Mr. Warner publicly scolded his Republican counterpart after The Washington Post reported
that Mr. Burr had spoken with the White House and engaged with news organizations to dispute reports that Trump associates had been in consistent contact with Russian intelligence operatives.
In a conspicuous show of bipartisanship during a fraught moment at the Capitol, the top Republican
and the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee pledged to forge ahead by interviewing key players connected to Mr. Trump and pressing intelligence agencies to provide all relevant information.
By MATT FLEGENHEIMER and EMMARIE HUETTEMANMARCH 29, 2017
WASHINGTON — Leaders of the Senate investigation into President Trump’s possible ties to Russia on Wednesday sought to distance themselves from the flagging House
inquiry, eager to establish their work as credible in the face of growing doubts about Congress’s capacity to hold Mr. Trump and his associates to account.