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Russia tried to help elect Trump, Senate intel committee says

The Senate Intelligence Committee's findings clash with a House report last month that found "no evidence" of Trump campaign collusion​.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
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Senate Intelligence Committee Leaders Brief The Media On Russia Investigation

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr and Vice Chair Mark Warner say they trust the conclusions of intelligence agencies.

 Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

A Senate committee on Wednesday backed US intelligence agencies and their findings that Russia interfered with the 2016 US presidential election in an effort to elect then-candidate Donald Trump.

"Committee staff have spent 14 months reviewing the sources, tradecraft, and analytic work, and we see no reason to dispute the conclusions," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a Republican, said in a statement. 

The Senate committee's findings clash with a report last month from Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee that found "no evidence" of Trump campaign collusion. That report maintained that Russia's aim wasn't to boost Trump's chances of winning, but rather to undermine free elections and spread discord in the US. 

Wednesday's statement on the Senate committee's conclusions also included remarks from Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia who serves as the committee's vice chair. Warner echoed Burr.

"After a thorough review, our staff concluded that the ICA [Intelligence Community Assessment] conclusions were accurate and on point," Warner said. "The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton."

Burr and Warner held a closed hearing on Wednesday to wrap up a review of the ICA on Russian activities during the election, following a hearing the committee held in January 2017. The staff will finish this portion of the report on the intelligence community's work before submitting it for a classification review, according to the statement.