Russia investigations on the Hill: Where things stand

ByABC News
April 24, 2017, 5:00 AM

— -- Multiple committee investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign will continue to push forward as Congress returns this week. Here's where things stand and what to watch for in the next few days:

House Intelligence Committee

Members of the House Intelligence Committee are hoping to get back to work after chairman Devin Nunes withdrew himself from the panel's Russia investigation amid ethics complaints. The panel, whose Russia work is now headed by Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX), announced Friday that it invited FBI Director James Comey and Admiral Mike Rogers to appear for a closed door hearing on May 2. The committee also invited former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to testify in an open setting sometime after May 2. Nunes had previously cancelled an open hearing with those three former officials, a move his Democratic counterpart Adam Schiff (D-CA) quickly condemned as politically motivated.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK: Members and committee staff are in the process of reviewing NSA documents at Ft. Meade, Maryland, related to former national security adviser Susan Rice's requests to "unmask" particular Trump campaign officials caught up in surveillance of foreign targets.

Senate Intelligence Committee

The Senate Intelligence Committee is still interviewing analysts involved in the 2016 intelligence community report on Russia’s interference that was ordered up by President Obama. Once they are done with those interviews, which could still take months given the amount of records they’re sifting through, Ranking Member Mark Warner (D-VA) has said the committee will then receive testimony from top Trump officials who have had contact with Russian officials, including Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“We’ve gotta make sure we have all our information first so we know the appropriate questions to ask,” he said. In terms of timing, Warner said he and Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) may not wrap up their investigation until after the August congressional recess. Warner has also not ruled out interviewing Rice as part of his panel's investigation but has said he has seen no evidence that Rice did anything wrong.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK: Committee staff are expected to continue their off-site interviews with intelligence analysts. The full committee also has its two weekly closed hearings in which it gets updates on all intelligence matters, and on Wednesday the committee will hold a hearing into the confirmation of the CIA chief counsel.

House Oversight Committee

Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has said he wants to investigate potential leaks of classified information to reporters about Russia-Trump contacts as well as investigating Mike Flynn’s business dealings in Russia. The committee is investigating payments President Trump's former national security adviser received from foreign governments and also reviewing security protocol at Mar-a-Lago and various issues regarding the Trump Organization.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK: The committee has no hearings scheduled on Russia, focusing instead on unrelated issues like “the unintended consequences of the foreign account tax compliance act.” They are also asking the Trump Organization how it plans to donate profits from foreign government payments to the U.S. Treasury, which might involve Russia but only tangentially.

Graham and the Senate Judiciary Committee

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Crime and Terrorism, are investigating Russian efforts to influence democratic elections in the U.S. and abroad. They met in early March with FBI director Comey and plan to announce a second hearing date and witness panel in the next few weeks.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK: We await the committee’s announcement of its upcoming hearing.

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