The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee told reporters Wednesday that he’s eyeing an end of the year completion of his panel’s report into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.
Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C) provided the timeline on the same day his committee convened yet another public hearing as part of its probe—this one focused on Russian meddling in European elections.
“I’d like to finish by the end of this year, but that’s aspirational right now,” Sen. Burr said.
The ranking member on the committee, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), wasn’t willing to commit to a timeline. “I’m not going to try to get into predictions at this point,” he said on Wednesday.
As part of its probe, the committee has interviewed over 40 people, according to Burr.
Most of those interviews were conducted in closed session. Others, however, were done in public hearings garnering wall-to-wall media coverage, including when Attorney General Jeff Session testified earlier this month, and when ex-FBI Director James Comey appeared before the panel in June.
Burr said he anticipates a flurry of investigative actions ahead, noting that the July schedule is “very aggressive” and that the panel may double its number of interviews before the August recess.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is just one of several ongoing investigations into alleged Russian meddling and Trump campaign ties during the election last year.
Both the Senate Judiciary and the House Intelligence Committee are conducting their own probes with no word yet on anticipated completion.
The Department of Justice, of course, is conducting the primary investigation into the affair. That effort is being led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller who was named as a special counsel in May by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, following President Donald Trump’s firing of James Comey. Officials involved have been tight-lipped about any possible completion dates.
