Senate Intelligence Vice-Chair Expects Trump Family Back For More Questions
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The vice-chair of the Select Senate Intelligence committee said he expects members of President Donald Trump's family to be called back to testify again based on new information from former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
"We've got a number of major figures -- like Donald Trump Jr. and I want to bring back Jared Kushner -- particularly in light of some of the supposed comments that Gen. Flynn may have been making," said Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia to has served on the committee since 2011.
Trump Jr. is expected to be asked about his June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians, while Kushner, the president's son-in-law, may face further questions regarding his role as senior White House adviser.
As part of a plea deal, Flynn admitted that a senior member of the Trump transition team directed him to make contact with Russian officials in December 2016.
"Gen. Flynn is one more example of the extent of ties between senior officials involved in the Trump efforts and the Russians," said Warner. "We've seen the Trump campaign try to dismiss Mr. Papadopoulos when he plead guilty, we've seen them try to distance themselves from former campaign manager Paul Manafort and ongoing campaign aide Rick Gates, but they can't distance themselves from President Trump's national security adviser who has acknowledged a crime."
The senator also cited Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen as someone likely to be called back for further questions.
"How many more figures have to be brought to justice because of their ties with Russians before we end up connecting all these dots?... My hope is Gen. Flynn tells everything he knows, tell why he was having these contacts with Russian, who directed these contacts," said Warner. "I think it goes well beyond the fact that he just lied to the FBI."
Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI, becoming the first official who worked in the Trump White House to make a guilty plea so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
"Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security Advisor at the White House for 25 days during the Trump Administration, and a former Obama administration official, entered a guilty plea to a single count of making a false statement to the FBI," White House special counsel Ty Cobb said in a statement. "The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year. Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn. The conclusion of this phase of the Special Counsel's work demonstrates again that the Special Counsel is moving with all deliberate speed and clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion."