No subpoenas planned for Trump Jr., Manafort

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his former campaign chairman are discussing being privately interviewed by a Senate committee investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, the panel confirmed Friday.

The committee initially called for Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort to appear publicly next week. But the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee now say the men are negotiating the terms of their appearances, and lawmakers don’t currently plan to issue subpoenas to force them to publicly testify.

In a joint statement, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also said they are negotiating with Trump Jr. and Manafort about possibly turning over documents.

Both men face questions about attending a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 that was described to Trump Jr. in emails as part of a Russian government effort to help his father’s campaign. Trump Jr. was told the lawyer had damaging information that could be used against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and top White House aide, also attended the meeting. He is scheduled to speak behind closed doors with the Senate intelligence committee Monday and with the House intelligence committee Tuesday.

The committee also is looking at the work of Glenn Simpson, a political operative who was involved in the compilation of a dossier of unsubstantiated and sometimes salacious information about Trump and his associates and their interactions with Russians.

Grassley and Feinstein said Friday that they have issued a subpoena for Simpson to appear before the committee next week.