Donald Trump Jr. wants 'leak' probe, as
Congress' Russia probes press on
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[December 13, 2017]
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald
Trump's eldest son asked a House of Representatives committee on Tuesday
to investigate possible leaks of information about his Dec. 6 interview
with lawmakers, as congressional probes of Russia and the 2016 election
picked up steam ahead of the New Year.
Alan Futerfas, an attorney for Donald Trump Jr., asked Representative
Michael Conaway, the Republican leading the House Intelligence
Committee's investigation of alleged Russian meddling in the election,
to look into comments he said came from committee members and staff that
were included in media reports.
"To maintain the credibility of the Investigation, this Committee should
determine whether any member or staff member violated the Rules," he
said in a letter to Conaway.
A spokeswoman for Conaway declined comment.
Separately, the Associated Press reported that Trump Jr. was due to
appear in Congress again on Wednesday, this time before the Senate
Intelligence Committee, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Republican Senator Richard Burr, the committee's chairman, would not
confirm the report. Other committee members and their aides declined
comment. Futerfas also declined comment.
The Senate and House Intelligence panels are conducting the main
congressional investigations after U.S. intelligence agencies found that
Moscow attempted to influence the campaign to help the Republican Trump
defeat his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
They are also working to determine whether Trump associates colluded
with Russia.
Moscow denies seeking to influence the election, and Trump has dismissed
any talk of collusion.
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Donald Trump Jr. speaks at the 2016 Republican National Convention
in Cleveland, Ohio U.S. July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
The two committees, sometimes members and sometimes staff, have been
conducting frequent interviews with a variety of witnesses, seeking to
wrap up their investigations well before the U.S. congressional
elections in November 2018.
Burr said he felt "some urgency" related to election security
related to next year's vote. He said he expected the Senate
committee's investigation would last into 2018, and that there were
dozens more people still to be interviewed.
"So it's going to carry over (into next year), but it's not going to
carry over far unless the basket of people (to be interviewed)
changes, and the only way that changes is if we learn of individuals
that we didn't know about today," Burr told reporters at the U.S.
Capitol.
He said the committee did not now plan any more public hearings in
its Russia probe.
Separately, Sam Clovis, a former Trump campaign official, was
interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee for more than four
hours on Tuesday. He came to the attention of investigators after a
report that he encouraged George Papadopoulos, a one-time Trump
foreign policy campaign adviser, to improve relations between the
United States and Russia.
Clovis' attorney denied those reports. She did not respond
immediately to a request for comment about his House testimony on
Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by
Peter Cooney)
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