Donald Trump Jr and Paul Manafort Will Testify Before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Donald Trump Jr. and his father's former campaign manager Paul Manafort will testify next week in front of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary regarding Russia's alleged influence on the 2016 presidential election, the committee announced Wednesday. The hearing, originally set for July 19, has been rescheduled to July 26 after Trump Jr.'s admission that he, Manafort and President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner took a meeting with a Russian lawyer last June in hopes of gaining damaging information about Hillary Clinton ahead of the election. Should Trump Jr. and Manafort accept the calls and attend the testimony, they will almost certainly be asked by the panel about their involvement with the meeting, which is the most significant evidence to date that the Trump campaign welcomed help from the Russian government to win the U.S. election. Trump Jr. and Manafort have confirmed they have received the invitations, according to ABC, and are currently reviewing them. Neither have accepted them at this time of writing. Kushner, meanwhile, has agreed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closer-door session on July 24, his attorney Abbe Lowell told TIME in a statement. "As Mr. Kushner has been saying since March, he has been and is prepared to voluntarily cooperate and provide whatever information he has on the investigations to Congress," Lowell said. "Working with and being responsive to the schedules of the committees, we have arranged Mr. Kushner's interview with the Senate for July 24. He will continue to cooperate and appreciates the opportunity to assist in putting this matter to rest."