Both the Republicans, and the Democrats in the House Committee of Intelligence have released separate, and contradictory statements as to what happened during the presidential race of 2016. The Republicans have stated, “We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians” (you can read that here, and see all the public documents available here).

While the Democrats have said that the Republicans have prematurely stopped the investigation, and have hindered it saying, “in this document, we will set out the investigative threads that we have been pursuing—and in some cases, been prevented from pursuing—and will need to be completed at a later date to ensure not only that the public is fully informed, but also to determine whether the Russians have leverage over the President of the United States” (you can read their full document here).

So, with that out of the way, what has the House Intelligence Committee, and the two different parties, come up with? Well, they do agree on one thing. Russia did interfere with our election, and they did so with cyber attacks and manipulating social media. But that is where the similarities end.

The Republicans feel confident stating “We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians.” But the Democrats are not so sure. They don’t say they are convinced there was collusion, just that there needs to be more investigating.

Their memo states “The decision to shut down the investigation before key witnesses could be interviewed and vital documentary evidence obtained will prevent us from fully discharging our duty to the House and to the American people … In this document, we will set out the investigative threads that we have been pursuing—and in some cases, been prevented from pursuing—and will need to be completed at a later date to ensure not only that the public is fully informed, but also to determine whether the Russians have leverage over the President of the United States.”

So what do they feel needs more looking into?

1. Who knew about the Russian hack? We know Papadopoulos knew, so who else did? Did he talk to anyone? Was anything else talked about?
2. Who did Russia use to talk to the Trump administration? We know that Flynn talked with them about the sanctions, so who else knew what was going on? And was anything else promised? Does this go all the way to the Kremlin?
3. One issue, which would take looking into from further back than Trump’s candidacy, would be any financial leverage. The report states “For example, Deutsche Bank, which was fined $630 million in 2017 over its involvement in a $10 billion Russian money-laundering scheme, consistently has been the source of financing for President Trump, his businesses, and his family.”
4. “Money Laundering and foreign payments” such as the actions of Paul Manafort which have gotten him indicted
5. Obstruction of Justice, like Flynn telling Russia that the Trump Administration will repeal the sanctions enacted by Obama, or Trump asking Comey to not investigate Flynn, and then firing him.

With this the Democrats are not trying to say that Trump or his campaign have done anything wrong, they are just saying that there needs to be more investigating. Along with the above, they list 30 witnesses, 20 entities, and “more than 15 persons and entities for which the Committee believes the compulsory process for appearance and/or document production to the Committee is necessary” which the Democrats would like to see.

The most striking difference though might be in the denial made by Republicans that Putin and Russia wanted Trump to be president over Hillary Clinton. A conclusion made by the combined Intelligence Community. Perhaps the Republicans have a good reason for this, but it seems we are getting dangerously close to truth differing with political ideation.