MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US President Donald Trump asked senior Republican senators to conclude the investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election during this summer, The New York Times newspaper reported, citing lawmakers and congressional aides.
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Trump asked Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burr, of North Carolina, as well as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Roy Blunt of Missouri, to end the probe as soon as possible.
"It was something along the lines of, ‘I hope you can conclude this as quickly as possible'," Burr told the newspaper.
The Intelligence Committee chairman reportedly said that he did not feel like Trump was putting pressure on him and attributed the request to the president's lack of experience in the government.
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"Businessmen are paid to skip things that they think they can skip and get away with," Burr told the newspaper, explaining that Trump was more used to thinking like a businessman than like a politician.
Blunt, who was also approached by Trump about finishing the investigation, reportedly did not feel pressured by the president's statement.
Another Republican senator reportedly said that Trump did not ask him to bring the Russia probe to a close, but touched upon a potential investigation into his presidential rival Hillary Clinton and her connection to the firm that produced a dossier about Trump's alleged connection to Moscow.
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Mueller's Probe
The Senate Intelligence Committee began a bipartisan investigation into an alleged Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election in January of this year, with a separate probe being conducted by the FBI and Justice Department under the guidance of ex-FBI Director Robert Mueller, appointed Special Counsel in the investigation.
Russian officials have characterized the allegations as absurd and groundless, while President Donald Trump has called the probe into Moscow's alleged meddling, a "witch hunt", and urging to close it due to the absence of evidence.
