Bronx, NY—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement on the bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 elections in favor of then-candidate Donald Trump and the associated counterintelligence threats posed by individuals close to Mr. Trump and the Trump Campaign:

 “This report provides the most detailed evidence we’ve seen about Russian election interference on behalf of Trump and, worse, his campaign putting out the welcome mat for that interference. It lays out the appalling lengths to which Trump campaign officials and Trump family members went to seek out Russian help, the effort the Russian government made to get Trump elected, and the dubious tactics the Trump White House employed in an attempt to keep this information hidden from the American people.

“This report shows that key members of Trump’s inner circle, particularly his campaign chairman Paul Manafort, were deeply involved with a cast of shady characters, including targets of American sanctions and a Russian intelligence officer.

“Now, four years after Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin helped propel Donald Trump to the presidency, the Russians have only grown bolder and more brazen. Rather than holding Russia accountable, he rejects the judgments of our own intelligence agencies, bipartisan congressional committees, and countless media reports. Because the President  continues to conceal and benefit from ongoing Russian interference in the 2020 elections, I urge all of my fellow Americans to know the truth plainly and carefully laid out by Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee so they can be fully informed in the weeks and months ahead.

“As for me, I will encourage every member of the Foreign Affairs Committee to familiarize themselves with this report so that we will ask the right questions about Trump Administration policy toward Russia and the now-completely-exposed conflicts of interest tarnishing our national interests.”

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