Speier: Dems Could Subpoena Trump Jr., Kushner As Part Of Russia Inquiries
SAN MATEO (CBS SF / CNN) -- A Bay Area Democrat who sits on the House Intelligence Committee suggested Friday that Democrats could subpoena Donald Trump Jr. and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner next year as part of investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Asked by CNN's Brianna Keilar on CNN's "Right Now" about whether the House Intelligence Committee will bring in Kushner and Trump Jr. to be interviewed again once the Democrats take control of the House, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, said, "We will certainly subpoena their records."
"I think they will be subpoenaed if they don't come voluntarily," she added. "We will try to make as many hearings as possible public."
Trump Jr. and Kushner have denied any wrongdoing in their contact with Russians during the 2016 election.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the likely incoming chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in October that he wants to bring in witnesses and pursue records regarding Russian money laundering and Trump's businesses.
The House Intelligence Committee first interviewed Trump Jr. privately on December 6, 2017, when he testified about his June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Russian operatives after being promised dirt -- which never materialized -- on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Kushner met with members of the House and Senate intelligence committees in July 2017.
Although the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee ended their inquiry into potential collusion between Trump's team and Russia in March, Speier made it clear the Democrats intend to continue investigating potential connections.
"We want to hear from I think a number of people that we have already interviewed," Speier said. "All of the phone bills and phone calls made and all of the direct messages and the emails that were never subpoenaed need to be subpoenaed for the primary persons that were part of the Trump orbit and campaign."
Democratic lawmakers and aides say planning is already underway for how they will use their committee powers — from hearings to subpoenas — to get the answers to their burning questions about matters ranging from Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials to the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. Potential probes into Russia and obstruction are just two of the numerous ways that Democrats are readying oversight of the Trump administration's actions as well as Trump's personal finances once they control the House.
© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten. CNN contributed to this report.
