Senate Releases Russia Report; Media Interpretations Differ

On Tuesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee released its Russia interference report. The 966-page report was a bipartisan investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 election. The Senate panel found no evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election, though it did find a list of contacts made between members of the Trump campaign and Russian officials; some of these contacts were allegedly made through Konstantin Kilimnik, a former associate of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s, who was named a “Russian intelligence officer” by the report. The Senate committee also heavily criticized the FBI’s vetting of former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele's opposition research file against Trump, saying the bureau's handling of the dossier “lacked rigor and transparency.” Some coverage from right-rated outlets acknowledged the report painted Trump in a bad light, while other coverage from the right focused on the purported lack of evidence of collusion and the criticism of the FBI's handling of the Steele dossier. Coverage from left-rated outlets primarily focused on how the report ostensibly contradicted Trump's stance on the Russia investigation; some also highlighted Paul Manafort's alleged connections to Russian intelligence officers.