After Manafort would only agree to one transcribed interview, the Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the former Trump campaign manager to testify on Wednesday.
Here is the joint statement from Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA):
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.
Therefore, yesterday evening, a subpoena was issued to compel Mr. Manafort’s participation in Wednesday’s hearing. As with other witnesses, we may be willing to excuse him from Wednesday’s hearing if he would be willing to agree to production of documents and a transcribed interview, with the understanding that the interview would not constitute a waiver of his rights or prejudice the committee’s right to compel his testimony in the future.
Manafort tried to stonewall the committee, and limit his participation to a voluntary, behind closed doors, transcribed single interview. The reason why Manafort doesn’t want to testify is that he is under criminal investigation for his financial dealings with Russia.
The worst case scenario for Trump on Russia is beginning to unfold. His people are being subpoenaed and dragged before Congress to talk about the Russia scandal. The scandal is only getting worse for Trump, which is why the President’s behavior has become even more erratic and outburst filled on social media.
The clock is ticking on Trump, and there is no Hillary Clinton that he can use to distract from his problems. The Russia investigation is going to take a long time to sort itself out, but Donald Trump is already unraveling.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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