Manafort, Trump Jr. in talks with Senate panel

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his former campaign chairman have agreed to discuss being privately interviewed by a Senate committee investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, the panel confirmed Friday.

The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary committee said Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort agreed to negotiate with the committee about being interviewed by members and staff as well as to discuss the possibility of turning over documents.

The joint statement from Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the committee will not subpoena the two men to force them to testify publicly next week, though it could do so in the future.

Both men face questions about attending a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 that was described to Trump Jr. in emails as part of a Russian government effort to help his father’s campaign.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is scheduled to speak behind closed doors with the Senate intelligence committee Monday and with the House intelligence committee Tuesday.

In other Russia probe news, The Washington Post reports the Russian ambassador to the U.S. has said he discussed election-related issues with Sen. Jeff Sessions when the two men met during the 2016 presidential race. The Post is citing anonymous U.S. officials who described U.S. intelligence intercepts of Ambassador Sergey Kislyak’s descriptions of his meetings with Sessions.