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"""Democratic Sen. Mark Warner texted with Russian oligarch lobbyist in effort to contact dossier author Christopher Steele""" EXCLUSIVE – Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has been leading a congressional investigation into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia, had extensive contact last year with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch who was offering Warner access to former British spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, according to text messages obtained exclusively by Fox News.

With no firm conclusions yet on whether President Donald Trump’s campaign may have coordinated with Russia, the Senate intelligence committee could delay answering that question and issue more bipartisan recommendations early next year on protecting future elections from foreign tampering. Recommendations on how to counter the threat from attempted election hackers could be the first written product from congressional committees examining Russian interference into the 2016 election that put Trump in the White House. An early bipartisan report could be an attempt to boost confidence in the panel’s probe, as lawmakers worry that other issues could be lost if they...

"I think there still remains some chance," Warner replied. "And I was saying, Friday was my single worst day as a U.S. senator." Warner emphasized that he was disappointed because he wanted to be a part of a bipartisan effort on tax reform since he realizes there needs to be changes to corporate rates to bring back American profits. He explained, however, that the process of seeing the tax bill pass both the House and Senate "just plain stunk."

Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr on Tuesday threatened to subpoena Trump campaign aides if they ignore deadlines to turn over records to his panel, explaining that he had received just two responses to an initial request for information. “I think all options are on the table, and I think you can envision what those options are,” the North Carolina Republican told reporters. “The most severe would be subpoena.” The Intelligence panel’s top Democrat, Mark Warner of Virginia, said it appeared that just one person was complying with Tuesday’s initial deadline to provide the committee with records of any meetings they...

Legislation floated by two Democratic senators would enhance transparency for online political ads, requiring social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to keep a public file of them. […] In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the two (Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota) say the legislation would also require companies to “make reasonable efforts” to ensure that election ads are not purchased directly or indirectly by foreign nationals. …

"The possibility of presidential pardons in this process concerns me and also would be, I think, a really, really bad move," he added. (Va.), said one of his big fears in the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is that President Trump would pardon those convicted.

(CNN)House Russia investigators are planning to call on Brad Parscale, the digital director of President Donald Trump's campaign, as the congressional and federal probes dig into any possible connections between the Trump digital operation and Russian operatives, congressional sources said this week. {snip} Parscale told CNN Friday that he had not been contacted by any investigators -- either federal or Congressional. Senate investigators in particular have been interested in looking for a link between the prevalence of fake news that supported Trump and was pinpointed in key areas of Rust Belt states that ultimately flipped from blue to red --...

Over the weekend Sen. Mark Warner, the top democrat on the Senate Intelligence community, said (as so many already have) that there is no smoking gun in the Trump-Russia investigation: WASHINGTON – The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee says “there’s no smoking gun” in the Russian collusion investigation and Hillary Clinton leaped to conclusions when she said Americans “guided” the Kremlin ‘s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. “There’s a lot of smoke,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We have no smoking gun at this point. But there is a lot of smoke.”...

-The Senate Intelligence Committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner, appeared on State of the Union with Jake Tapper -Warner commented on claims Hillary Clinton made this week, in which she said Americans guided the Russians disinformation campaign -The Virginia Democrat said there's no 'smoking gun,' that points to collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, but 'there's a lot of smoke'

The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee has invited former FBI Director James Comey to testify at a closed hearing on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the committee's chairman, Richard Burr, said. The invitation was extended by Burr, a Republican, and Mark Warner, the panel's top Democrat. There was no immediate word on whether Comey, whom President Donald Trump dismissed from his position at the FBI on Tuesday, would appear.

If Mrs. Clinton is forced to drop out of the 2016 presidential race due to her illnesses, and the Democrats choose centrists Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, or Claire McCaskill to replace her, would the Democratic base be enthusiastic, or would their turnout drop to where Mr. Donald Trump wins in a landslide?

Word is that Hillary Clinton will announce her vice presidential choice on Friday, and rumors that she’s going with a “safe” pick should worry Democrats. In this political climate, a search for “safety” could put her candidacy in serious danger. Change vs. the status quo. The GOP chose Mike Pence in part because his extremist views will reassure the Republican base. Pence is also an seasoned politician whose nomination is meant to reassure voters who worry that Trump has no experience in statecraft or governance. (Note to readers: Yes, I just used the words “Trump” and “statecraft” in the same...

Sing the song, blow out the candles, eat the cake and unwrap the gifts. According to a court filing on Monday, music publisher Warner/Chappell will pay $14 million to end a lawsuit challenging its hold on the English language's most popular song, "Happy Birthday to You." Additionally, the settlement stipulates a proposed final judgment and order that would declare the song to be in the public domain. A memorandum in support of the settlement sings the praises of the deal as "truly, an historic result." U.S. District Judge George H. King will have to sign off on it. The revelation...

https://youtu.be/t_Qpy0mXg8Y Video

Whether by economic necessity or by choice, as many as one-third of American workers now find themselves piecing together two, three or more on- demand opportunities to make a living. It's called The Gig Economy, or the Sharing Economy. Yet Washington mostly has remained on the sidelines as the U.S. economy, its workforce and the work place, have undergone perhaps the most dramatic transformation in decades. Senator Warner, a former business executive, is committed to bringing this conversation to Washington, working with his colleagues, stakeholders, and the growing “gig economy” workforce, to put forward practical solutions to keep up with...

-- Republican Ed Gillespie conceded the Virginia Senate race Friday to incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Warner. Gillespie said at a Friday afternoon news conference that he had called Warner "congratulating him on his re-election" in a race that turned out to be one of the midterm election's biggest surprises. Polls had shown Warner, a popular former governor who'd been endorsed by his Republican predecessor, ex-Sen. John Warner, with a hefty lead. But Gillespie led Warner for much of the night as returns trickled in Tuesday -- and ultimately ended up trailing by less than one percentage point. Get ready: 2016...

No one expected this race to be this close. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Republican Ed Gillespie are nearly tied in Virginia’s Senate race, according to early returns. With 99 percent of precincts in, Warner leads with 49.1 percent to Gillespie’s 48.5 percent. Speaking to supporters late Tuesday, Gillespie said he wasn’t ready to concede. “We’re going to be patient here. And I believe we need to be respectful of the voters.” “This race is not going to be decided until the last vote is counted,” adviser Mark Obenshain added at the election night celebration. Gillespie shocked observers by...

A seven-year-old law created after congressional Republicans pressured lobbying firms to hire their former staffers could be invoked against Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. Earlier this year, when then-Virginia state senator Phillip Puckett was considering resigning so his daughter could become a state judge without a conflict of interest, Warner intervened in an effort to convince him to stay. In an hour-long conversation, Warner described other job opportunities he could help the state senator's daughter get instead of the state judgeship, Puckett’s son told investigators....

More voters in 49 of the nation’s 50 states plan to use Election Day to voice opposition to President Obama and his policies than those who want to show support, according to a shocking new poll that suggests the president is hurting Democrats this election season. The president only has support in his birth state of Hawaii, where 27 percent plan to use their vote to show support versus 23 percent who said they will use Election Day as “a vote against Obama and his policies,” according to the poll published by YouGov.com in conjunction with CBS and the New...

The son of a former Virginia state senator has told federal investigators that U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner discussed the possibility of several jobs, including a federal judgeship, for the senator’s daughter in an effort to dissuade him from quitting the evenly divided state Senate.