SAYS OBAMA ADMIN OFFICIALS “INCREDIBLY COOPERATIVE”
by Sharon Rondeau
(Oct. 4, 2017) — As of 1:18 p.m. EDT, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is briefing the public on the investigation into alleged Russian “interference” in the 2016 election and related matters.
The presser is streaming live on CNN’s Facebook page.
Burr said that 100 people have been interviewed and that those who worked in the Obama administration have proved “incredibly cooperative.”
He said that the issue of “collusion” remains open. “I’m not even going to discuss initial findings, because we haven’t any,” Burr said at 1:24 p.m. However, he said 25 additional interviews are “booked” relating to the investigation.
“We’re developing a clear picture of what happened,” he said and that preparations to safeguard against Russian interference need to be made for future elections.
At 1:25, vice-chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) took to the podium. He said that “strings” and “threads” still need to be “pursued.”
Warner appeared to support the claim that the election systems of “21 states” were targeted by Russian operatives, a claim that has been said to be false.
At 1:30 p.m., Warner turned the briefing back to Burr, who said the committee has “hit a wall” on the background of the now-infamous “Trump Dossier,” which Burr called the “Steele Dossier” based on its author, Briton Christopher Steele. He indicated that Steele has not met with the committee but that the committee hoped to meet with him as well as anyone else with knowledge of its origins.
“The committee has proven to be balanced, professional, and we will listen to everybody,” Burr said. He said that the committee would “get the best view of what happened” during the 2016 election.
Burr began to take questions at 1:37.
Regarding the extent of Russian meddling, Burr said that “no votes were changed” and that the election results are accurate, to which Warner nodded his assent.