Trump lawyer, former Trump surrogate on list of people House committee wants to hear from
Former Trump surrogate Boris Epshteyn is on a list of people that the House Intelligence Committee wants to hear from as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and ties between the Russian government and Trump associates.
"Like many others, Mr. Epshteyn has received a broad, preliminary request for information from the House Intelligence Committee," Epshteyn's counsel told CBS News. "This is a voluntary request. Mr. Epshteyn has not been subpoenaed nor do we anticipate that he will be.
We have reached out to the Committee wth several follow up questions and we are awaiting their response in order to better understand what information they are seeking and whether Mr. Epshteyn is able to reasonably provide it."
The list of at least two dozen names also includes President Trump's longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, according to a U.S. official. The list represents only the first round of interviews the Committee wants to conduct, and more names will likely be added to it in the future.
"To date, there has not been a single witness, document or piece of evidence linking me to this fake Russian conspiracy," Cohen told CBS News in a statement Tuesday. "This is not surprising to me because there is none!"
He told CBS news he would comply with a subpoena from the House Intelligence Committee. He initially said he would not volunteer to give the House and Senate Intelligence committees they documents they requested from him.
"I declined the invitation to participate as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered," he said. "I find it irresponsible and improper that the request sent to me was leaked by those working on the committee."
Cohen's name had previously come up in an unverified dossier compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele that alleged he had met with Russian officials in Prague last year. Cohen has denied the allegations.
"There is no truth to any of the statements in the reports," Cohen told CBS News in January. "I've never been to Prague. In September, I was taking my son to meet with the USC coach. In July of 2016, I was in Capri with my wife for her birthday. I've never been to Russia."
Epshteyn was a senior adviser to the Trump campaign and frequently appeared on television as a surrogate for the candidate. He then became an official in the White House press office until he abruptly left the job in March.