President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his former campaign chairman won’t testify publicly next week and are instead discussing being privately interviewed by a Senate committee investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, the panel said.
The committee initially called for Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort to appear publicly on Wednesday. But the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee now say the men are negotiating the terms of their appearances, and lawmakers do not currently plan to issue subpoenas to force them to appear. In a joint statement, Senators Chuck Grassley and Dianne Feinstein also said they are negotiating with Mr. Trump Jr. and Mr. Manafort about possibly turning over documents.
Meeting Russian lawyer
Both men face questions about attending a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 that was described to Mr. Trump Jr. in emails as part of a Russian government effort to help his father’s campaign. Mr. Trump Jr. was told the lawyer had damaging information that could be used against Democrat Hillary Clinton.