U.S. President Donald Trump has commended the release of a report by the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee, saying it proves there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Questioned about it during a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said, We were honored. It was a great report. No collusion, which I knew anyway.
He called the investigation a witch hunt, echoing a phrase he had tweeted earlier that morning, and added: If we can get along with Russia, that's a good thing, not a bad thing. But there has been nobody tougher on Russia than me.
Trump was questioned about the 243-page report released Friday by the House Intelligence Committee. It contained a large number of redactions and a conclusion that while the meddling by Russia was real, Trump's alleged involvement was not.
It called contacts between Russian officials and campaign aides ill advised and says at least one person may have given answers in legal testimony that were incomplete.
The Republicans on the committee said their report was based on interviews with 73 people and review of more than 300,000 documents.
