By Byron York, Washington Examiner
Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are questioning the intelligence community’s judgment that Russia’s Vladimir Putin specifically tried to help Donald Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. That judgment “did not employ proper analytic tradecraft,” committee Republicans charge in a new set of findings released Thursday. But the exact reasons for the committee’s skepticism remain secret, at least until a full report is released later.
Here are the two brief references to Putin’s intention included in the newly-released findings:
The first, “Finding #15,” says House Intel Republicans agree with and support the intelligence community assessment’s finding that Russia tried to meddle in the 2016 election. Indeed, the committee makes a number of recommendations based on that fact. But “Finding #16” refers to the assessment’s specific judgment about Putin and Trump, suggesting it was somehow improperly reached.
A little background: The intelligence community released two statements on Russian meddling: a brief, preliminary one, dated Oct. 7, 2016, and a more complete one released Jan. 6, 2017. The Oct. 7 statement said only that Russia’s intention was “to interfere with the US election process.” The Jan. 6 assessment said Russia’s goal was specifically to help Trump and hurt Clinton.
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