Paul Manafort subpoenaed by Senate Judiciary Committee
The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee have issued a subpoena to compel President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, to appear at a public hearing Wednesday regarding Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 election.
In a statement Tuesday, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman, and Dianne Feinstein, D-California, the ranking member, said that they were unable to reach an agreement for a "voluntary transcribed interview" with their panel.
"Mr. Manafort, through his attorney, said that he would be willing to provide only a single transcribed interview to Congress, which would not be available to the Judiciary Committee members or staff. While the Judiciary Committee was willing to cooperate on equal terms with any other committee to accommodate Mr. Manafort's request, ultimately that was not possible," they said.
Grassley and Feinstein, as a result, issued a subpoena late Monday to compel Manafort's participation in a hearing on Wednesday.
"As with other witnesses, we may be willing to excuse him from Wednesday's hearing if he would be willing to agree to production of documents and a transcribed interview, with the understanding that the interview would not constitute a waiver of his rights or prejudice the committee's right to compel his testimony in the future," they said.
This comes after the Senate Intelligence Committee interviewed Mr. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in its Russia probe Monday. The House Intelligence Committee is interviewing him Tuesday morning. In a statement from the White House Monday, Kushner denied that Mr. Trump's campaign colluded with Russia.
"I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government," Kushner said.