Senate panel leaders pledge bipartisan Russian probe

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s Republican and Democratic leaders said they trust each other and pledged a fully bipartisan investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election, in contrast with the discord that has roiled the House Intelligence panel’s probe.

"It’s not something that can be done quickly," Committee Chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, told reporters Tuesday in Washington.

The joint news conference provided a direct contrast with partisan paralysis that has gripped the House Intelligence panel’s parallel investigation. That committee’s chairman, California Republican Devin Nunes, has refused to share intelligence he said he gathered during a trip to the White House grounds, and the ranking Democrat has called for him to step down.

Burr and Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said the investigation has implications beyond U.S. politics because Russia is actively trying to manipulate upcoming elections in Europe, including the next month’s presidential balloting in France.

It is “safe to say the Russians are actively involved in the French elections,” Burr said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.net.