The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday morning about foreign agents and attempts to influence the U.S. election. The panel is among the bodies investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Committee Chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Vice Chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., had hoped to have President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort testify, along with Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son.
Both men, along with Trump's son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, were present at a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 where they met with a Russian lawyer and two other Russian-Americans — with the understanding established beforehand that the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was bringing damaging information about Hillary Clinton offered by the Russian government in order to help Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
The committee had planned to subpoena Manafort in an effort to bring him before the committee. But Wednesday night, the committee reportedly withdrew its subpoena, after Manafort agreed to meet with committee investigators.
Meanwhile the panel will hear from Justice department and FBI officials and businessman William Browder, a businessman with financial dealings in Russia who advocated for passage of the Magnitsky Act.
