One day after the Senate Majority Leader proclaimed the Russia investigation, “Case closed” in a speech on the Senate floor – and hours after President Trump declared the same on Twitter – multiple news organizations reported Wednesday that the Senate Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena for additional testimony by Donald Trump Jr. on the Russia probe, a surprise action by a committee controlled by Republicans in the Senate.
The subpoena was first reported on Wednesday by Axios.
News of the Trump Jr. subpoena emerged just as the House Judiciary Committee was voting on Wednesday to find Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the full Mueller Report – as it was a sharp reminder that while the President has declared the Russia investigation to be over, it is still going forward, even in the GOP-controlled Senate.
The reported subpoena drew a rebuke from the top Republican in the U.S. House, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
“It’s time to move on,” McCarthy said, echoing the mantra of GOP leaders and the White House.
It was not immediately clear why the Senate Intelligence Committee – which has already questioned the President’s son – would want Trump Jr. back for more Q&A.
While Trump Jr. has testified multiple times before Congress, the Mueller Report showed that the Special Counsel’s office never interviewed him during the Russia probe.
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On page 125 of the Mueller Report, investigators said during the review of the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting that Trump Jr. “declined to be interviewed” by the Special Counsel.
On page 317 of the Mueller Report, there was a redaction dealing with Trump Jr., which some experts believe is also about the inability of a grand jury to hear testimony from the President’s son.
Trump Jr. proclaimed his vindication as the redacted version of the Mueller Report was being released in April:
While the Senate Intelligence Committee was making news about Trump Jr., the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday added to the pressure by Democrats on Attorney General William Barr, as that panel joined the House Judiciary Committee in issuing a subpoena for the full Mueller Report, along with counter-intelligence information involved in the investigation.
“DOJ has responded to our requests with silence and defiance,” said panel chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). “Congress needs the material. We will not be obstructed.”
Just as Republicans said it was time to ‘move on,’ the refrain from Democrats was that the Trump White House and the Justice Department were engaging in a pattern of obstruction against legitimate oversight by the Congress.
“The Attorney General of the United States is stonewalling,” said Rep. Ted Deutch (R-FL).
But Republicans were having none of that.
“Democrats need to get over it,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
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Source Article from https://www.ajc.com/blog/jamie-dupree/russia-investigation-not-case-closed-for-donald-trump/69Tfc8IKGTXC8r1bS0qHbM/
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