House intelligence panel seeks interviews with Trump lawyers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Intelligence Committee has called four lawyers linked to President Donald Trump and his family for interviews as part of an investigation into whether they tried to obstruct the panel's inquiry into Russian election interference.
The panel sent letters to the four men in March after Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, testified before several committees in February and spoke to special counsel Robert Mueller about preparations for Cohen's 2017 closed-door interviews before the House and Senate intelligence panels.
Cohen told lawmakers that Trump's attorneys had reviewed and edited a written statement that he submitted before those interviews that included false information.
The letters to the lawyers were obtained by The Associated Press from a senior committee official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide the confidential information. The person said the lawyers, who operated together in a joint defense agreement set up to respond to Mueller's investigation and the congressional inquiries, had not yet complied with the committee's requests for interview and document production despite a May 10 deadline.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff is prepared to issue a subpoena to compel cooperation if necessary, the person said.
Schiff, D-Calif., said in a statement released today that Cohen's February testimony, along with materials in the committee's possession, raises "serious, unresolved concerns about the obstruction of our committee's investigation that we would be negligent not to pursue."