GOP-led House committee clears Trump of collusion

The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a report concluding it found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Democrats quickly panned the report’s findings, accusing the committee’s Republican majority of playing “defense counsel” for the White House. While they didn’t find evidence linking the Trump campaign with Russia’s attempt to influence the election in Trump’s favor, Republicans did fault the president’s team for “poor judgment” in agreeing to meet with Russian operatives who claimed to have dirt on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. They also criticized the Trump campaign’s praise of WikiLeaks as “objectionable.” The anti-secrecy website published emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee’s servers by Russian hackers. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the committee, claimed Republicans failed to “seriously investigate” evidence that pointed to collusion. He also urged them to release transcripts from dozens of interviews with key witnesses so Americans could draw their own conclusions. President Donald Trump praised the report on Twitter Friday morning, suggesting it proved politics, not facts, drove the various Russia probes: “A total Witch Hunt! MUST END NOW!”