Green Party candidate says she’s cooperating in Russia probe

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Senate intelligence committee has asked for documents from former presidential candidate Jill Stein as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, adding another new thread to the panel’s investigation as it heads into 2018.

Stein said in a statement overnight Tuesday that she was cooperating with the probe and is providing documents to the committee. She has captured the interest of investigators partly because she attended a 2015 dinner sponsored by Russian television network RT with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Senate intelligence committee chairman, Richard Burr, R-N.C., appeared to confirm the investigation’s new focus on Stein on Monday evening. Asked what the committee wanted to know about from Stein’s campaign, Burr responded: “collusion with the Russians.”

The request to Stein is more evidence that the Senate panel will still have much work to do in 2018. While the investigation has largely focused on both the Russian interference and whether it was in any way connected to President Donald Trump’s campaign, investigators are following multiple leads.

The top Democrat on the panel, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, would not confirm the investigation into Stein but noted Tuesday that she was at what he called the “infamous dinner” with Putin. Michael Flynn, who later became Trump’s national-security adviser, also attended the 2015 dinner in Moscow.

He is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into the Russian meddling and has pleaded guilty to a count of making false statements to FBI agents.

Warner also said Stein had said complimentary things about Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who Warner said “clearly was being used by the Russians to take some of the hacked information and release into our political system.”