Late last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort to testify publicly concerning Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
A press release issued Tuesday morning by committee chairman Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) highlighted the specific subject matter as “enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”
In a joint statement issued with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Grassley and his Democratic counterpart said:
“While we were willing to accommodate Mr. Manafort’s request to cooperate with the committee’s investigation without appearing at Wednesday’s hearing, we were unable to reach an agreement for a voluntary transcribed interview with the Judiciary Committee. Mr. Manafort, through his attorney, said that he would be willing to provide only a single transcribed interview to Congress, which would not be available to the Judiciary Committee members or staff. While the Judiciary Committee was willing to cooperate on equal terms with any other committee to accommodate Mr. Manafort’s request, ultimately that was not possible.”
The press release goes on to note that, should Mr. Manafort agree to certain document production and transcribed interview requests, he may still be excused from appearing and testifying publicly.
If those conditions are not met, Manafort, who was previously scheduled to discuss his role in the ongoing Russia scandal behind closed doors, will be compelled to appear before the Senate tomorrow, Wednesday, July 26.
[image via screengrab]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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