House intelligence committee to hear from lobbyist, Sessions

WASHINGTON — The House intelligence committee is preparing to interview a RussianAmerican lobbyist who attended a meeting last year with President Donald Trump's son as part of its probe into Russian election interference. The panel is also expected to interview Attorney General Jeff Sessions in coming weeks, according to people familiar with the interviews.

The House interview with Rinat Akhmetshin is scheduled for next week, and Sessions' interview is planned for Nov. 30, according to one of the sources. Dates for witnesses have often been pushed later.

Congressional investigators are probing the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr, as is special counsel Robert Mueller. Akhmetshin already has been interviewed by the Senate intelligence panel, according to a person familiar with that interview.

All of those disclosing the interviews spoke on condition of anonymity because the meetings are not publicly announced.

The interviews come as the House panel has ramped up its schedule in its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election — sometimes holding twohour interviews in one day. Some Republicans have expressed interest in wrapping up the probe by the end of the year, though it likely will spill into 2018.

The House panel last week interviewed Ike Kaveladze, also known as Irakly Kaveladze, who was also at the meeting as a representative of a Russian developer who once partnered with Trump to bring the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow.