A report alleging Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee leaked to the media Russian election meddling investigation texts by the Senate Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat has been disputed by a key lawmaker.
According to The New York Times, last month the committee’s Republican chairman, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, and its top Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, were so angered by a media leak that they discussed the issue with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, in addition to venting larger concerns about the House Intelligence Committee and its chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes.
On Thursday, Mr. Burr denied The New York Times report, telling CNN that his committee had not concluded that House Republicans were behind the leak. He also denied discussing concerns about Mr. Nunes with Mr. Ryan.
A spokesman for Mr. Nunes also lashed out at the story.
“The New York Times, a prominent purveyor of leaks, is highlighting anonymous sources leaking information that accuses Republicans of leaking information,” spokesman Jack Langer said in statement on Thursday. “I’m not sure if this coverage could possibly get more absurd.”
According to the report in question, Mr. Burr and Mr. Warner were angered that text messages were published by Fox News last month between Mr. Warner and lobbyist Adam Waldman, whose firm reportedly has ties to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Oleg Deripaska, a businessman with alleged ties to the Russian mafia.
The texts were an effort by Mr. Warner to contact Christopher Steele, the ex-British intelligence officer behind the notorious anti-Trump dossier alleging long-standing connections between the Kremlin and President Trump’s campaign.
Mr. Waldman reportedly provided copies of the texts to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Staff for Mr. Nunes then asked for copies to be shared with the House Intelligence Committee. Several days later, the texts were reported by Fox News.
While the report caused Mr. Trump to question why Mr. Warner would want a private meeting with Mr. Steele, at the time, Mr. Warner and Mr. Burr condemned the leaks in a joint statement calling it “incomplete information” taken out of context.
Another Republican committee member, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, tweeted: “Sen. Warner fully disclosed this to the committee four months ago. Has had zero impact on our work.”
Both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are conducting probes into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
The Senate probe has been widely acknowledged as a bipartisan effort. The House effort, however, has been marked by such serious partisan infighting that the committee is expected to issue two separate reports on its findings — one by Republicans and one by Democrats.
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