Politics & Government
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman To Ask Donald Trump Jr. To Testify
An ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush has said Trump Jr.'s action "borders on treason, if it is not itself treason."
WASHINGTON, DC — The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says he's asking Donald Trump Jr. to testify and will subpoena if necessary.
Trump Jr. tweeted emails Tuesday that show, for the first time, that he and other high-level associates of his father knew months before Election Day last year that the Russian government planned to influence voters. The emails outline and describe a June 2016 meeting between a Russian lawyer with Kremlin ties and the president's son. They were joined by Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort. Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, is senior White House adviser and worked on the campaign. Manafort was Trump's campaign manager at the time.
Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017
Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017
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Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said he wants Trump Jr. to appear "pretty soon," and it could be as early as next week.
The panel is investigating Russian meddling in the U.S. election. Grassley wouldn't say what he wants to hear from the president's eldest son, but said members aren't restricted "from asking anything they want to ask."
Find out what's happening in White Housefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Justice Department also released a heavily blacked out page from Attorney General Jeff Sessions' security clearance application in response to a government watchdog group's lawsuit.
The application page asks whether Sessions — a senator before joining the Trump administration — or anyone in his immediate family had contact within the past seven years with a foreign government or its representatives.
There's a "no" listed, but the rest of the answer is blacked out.
The department has acknowledged that Sessions — on his form — omitted meetings he had with foreign dignitaries, including the Russian ambassador.
A department spokesman said the FBI agent who helped with the form said those encounters didn't have to be included as routine contacts as part of Sessions' Senate duties.
Photo credit: Carolyn Kaster, Pablo Martinez Monsivais and Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press