NYT: Trump requested top Republicans end Senate Russia probe


This summer, President Trump asked the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and other senior Republicans in the Senate multiple times to bring to a close the panel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, several lawmakers and aides told The New York Times.
"It was something along the lines of, 'I hope you can conclude this as quickly as possible,'" Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the intelligence committee chairman, told the Times. He said he told Trump "when we have exhausted everybody we need to talk to, we will finish." Trump also approached several other Republicans over the summer, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), asking them to push Burr to finish the inquiry. One person who spoke with McConnell told the Times that Trump made it clear McConnell wasn't doing enough to get Burr to shut down the inquiry, and others said Burr told a few fellow senators Trump told him it was time to "move on" from Russia.
Several Republican senators and aides were concerned about Trump's "forceful" and clear requests to urge Burr to end the inquiry, including one senator who told the Times he was "alarmed." A White House official said Trump made several of his calls without senior staff present, and he would often start out talking about one thing before making his request. Burr downplayed the phone calls, telling the Times that Trump has "never been in government" and doesn't know what is proper, adding that other members of the committee who were approached by Trump "promptly" shared the discussions they had with him.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Burkina Faso's misinformation war
Under The Radar The president of the West African country has quickly become the face of a viral, AI-powered propaganda campaign
-
Jeffrey Epstein's secrets
Feature Six years after his death, conspiracy theories still swirl around the sex trafficker. Why?
-
Voting: Trump's ominous war on mail ballots
Feature Donald Trump wants to sign an executive order banning mail-in ballots for the 2026 midterms
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Florida aims to end all state vaccine requirements
Speed Read Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cut vaccine access and install anti-vaccine activists at the FDA and CDC
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US