No evidence of Trump campaign-Russia collusion, committee Republicans say

A senior Republican member of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said it had found no evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and the Russians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned US President Donald Trump to thank him for a tip-off that helped prevent a terrorist bomb attack in St Petersburg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned US President Donald Trump to thank him for a tip-off that helped prevent a terrorist bomb attack in St Petersburg. Source: AAP

A Republican-dominated House panel announced Monday that its investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election found no collusion by Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

"We have found no evidence of collusion, coordination or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians," the majority Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said in a summary of their report.

The panel also rejected the notion that Moscow had specifically attempted to boost Trump's White House effort, a conclusion reached by the country's top intelligence officials in a January 2017 report.

The summary expressed "concurrence with the Intelligence Community Assessment's Judgments, except with respect (Russia President Vladimir)to Putin's supposed preference for candidate Trump."

The report signalled a move by Republicans on the deeply divided panel to end their year-old investigation, even as committee Democrats, who had yet to see the report, say they need to interview more witnesses.

"After more than a year, the committee has finished its Russia investigation and will now work on completing our report," panel chair Devin Nunes said.

"We hope our findings and recommendations will be useful for improving security and integrity for the 2018 midterm elections."

Following the news, Mr Trump wrote in all capitals on Twitter: "The House Intelligence Committee has, after a 14 month long in-depth investigation, found no evidence of collusion or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election."
Even if the House probe closes, the Senate Intelligence Committee is still investigating alleged collusion with Russia.

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