Republican cover-up...

Senate Judiciary Committee drops Manafort subpoena in Russia probe

By JOSH DAWSEY , MADELINE CONWAY and KYLE CHENEY

Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner met with congressional investigators on Tuesday to provide information about a heavily scrutinized meeting they attended last year with a Russian lawyer, and plans are underway for Manafort to speak soon to another Senate committee, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee had initially issued a subpoena to compel Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, to testify in its Russia probe. But it has since dropped it, according to the source, now that there are plans for Manafort to meet with committee investigators.

Kushner, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, met with the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday and appeared to be in the closed session for at least three hours. The panel's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, called the session "productive," though Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Democrats seemed to think Kushner wasn't revealing everything he knew.

"He was asked and re-asked the same questions over and over again,” King said.

Kushner also took questions from Senate Intelligence Committee members on Monday and, according to prepared remarks that he made public, told them he did “not collude” in Russia’s suspected attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Manafort also spoke to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.

Manafort, Kushner and the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., have all become central to the Russia probes after revelations of their involvement in the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and other Russia-linked people. The meeting was set up after Trump Jr. was told Veselnitskaya could help Trump’s campaign by providing dirt on Democrat Hillary Clinton. The investigations have infuriated the president and distracted the White House from its beleaguered policy agenda.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said before the subpoena was dropped Tuesday that she thought Manafort would ultimately agree to testify before her committee.

"The lawyers are going to work something out, I hope," she said. "This changes three times a day."

Earlier Tuesday, Manafort finished a meeting with the Senate intelligence panel and "answered their questions fully," spokesman Jason Maloni said. A person familiar with the meeting said it was requested by Manafort's team and that he had committed to be available again.

Manafort had agreed to provide notes of the meeting at Trump Tower last year with the Russian-connected group, according to a person close to the investigation. Manafort attended the entire 2016 meeting, while Kushner has said he left in the middle of it.

The Tuesday Senate panel meeting was focused on that June 2016 gathering. Manafort is also under investigation, however, for financial transactions by New York officials and is likely to face issues with disclosures for foreign lobbying.